


Driving Miss Catherine

by PurpleCrayon



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: F/M, Formula 1, Formula One
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-15
Updated: 2016-09-16
Packaged: 2018-08-15 04:20:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 43,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8042407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleCrayon/pseuds/PurpleCrayon
Summary: What happens when a disgraced Formula 1 driver becomes a chauffeur? Catherine's life is turned upside down when this former world champion becomes her personal driver.I have re-written this story as a book with all original characters: https://www.amazon.com/Oxterionn-Part-I-Lila-Smith-ebook/dp/B078XLGR3G/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1517077709&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=oxterionn+part+1





	1. Introduction

Catherine sat in class trying to pay attention. Her environmental science professor was not nearly as interesting as the cute bird sitting outside the open window, or the sound of passing cars on the busy street below. As students around her began packing up their bags, Catherine realized class was over. She put her notebook and pencil away and followed her classmates out the door and down the stairs that led outside. It was raining a little, so Catherine pulled up the hood of her rain jacket. She stepped out into the damp, humid air and looked for the familiar black car that waited for her each day. Normally she resented her father’s insistence on her having a personal driver, but on days like today she was glad to have a ride. However, today she did not see the black car anywhere. She angrily pulled her phone from her pocket and texted her dad.

*Where’s Devers?*

Her dad replied instantly: *I had to replace him, didn’t I tell you?*

Catherine rolled her eyes. *Nope.*

She frowned and put her phone away. She realized it looked like she was waiting for the bus, so she moved over a few feet and stood under a tree, looking down the one way street for the black car. Whoever this new guy was, she already disliked him. He was late, and making her stand in the rain.

The black car rounded the corner faster than most NYC taxis and practically screeched to a stop a few feet away from Catherine. She walked over to the car and waited for the door to be opened for her, but the driver never go out, so she opened it herself and slid into the back seat. The partition between the front seat and back slowly opened and the driver turned around to face her.

“Hi miss Catherine, sorry I’m late, that’s not something I’m used to,” he said and laughed at some joke that was apparent to him, but Catherine was completely clueless.

“Please, call me Cat,” She said and made no effort to lean forward to shake his hand.

“Cat? I like that, that’s a nice name. You can call me Seb,” he smiled, and turned around, leaving the partition down. As soon as he started driving, Cat realized he had probably never been a chauffeur before. As they zipped through the streets of New York City and snapped around corners so fast Cat had to hold onto the door handle to keep from sliding on the smooth leather seats, she tried to place where his accent might be from. Somewhere European, though he spoke English well, that was good. Cat knew French very well, and could tell he didn’t have any kind of French accent.

Cat was torn out of her thoughts as they lurched to a start as the light turned green. “So, what is Seb short for?” She asked once they were driving at a more normal pace.

“Sebastian, like the crab,” he smiled at her in the rear-view mirror. Sebastian the crab, from the Little Mermaid? Cat was starting to like Seb a little more. Maybe he would be okay after all.


	2. Prince Charming

Catherine rushed through her last exam of the semester, eager to get out of the hot, stuffy classroom she and her classmates were in. As she walked to the front of the classroom to hand in her test, she glanced out the window and tried to find the familiar black car waiting for her, like it had been the past few weeks. She smiled when she didn’t see it; ‘Seb,’ she thought to herself and shook her head. He’d been on time ever since that first day, when he was a few minutes late. They’d already grown closer than she and her last driver, who had been more of a fatherly, no, grandfatherly figure to her. Seb was kind of like that boy next door, that friend you could get into all sorts of trouble with; Cat had never had anyone like that before.

“Have a nice summer Miss Catherine,” her professor said quietly, smiling up at her from his desk.

“I told you, please call me Cat,” she whispered back.

“I’m sorry, but you’re father wants me to call you Miss Catherine,” he whispered back, glancing at the other students still taking exams.

“Whatever,” Cat sighed and put her text on his desk and got out of the classroom as fast as she could. She rushed down the stairs and opened the door to the sunshine. Cat skipped down the last few steps to the sidewalk and was about to sit down on the steps to wait for her driver when she saw him step out of a sleek black car.

“What is that?” Cat asked and her mouth dropped open in shock and amusement.

“It’s a Ferrari,” Seb replied smugly with the smile of a kid who’s been given whatever he wanted in a candy shop. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

Cat walked over to the car and ran her hand along the edge of it. “Does my dad know you have this?”

Seb chuckled. “Yes, he paid for it. I told him I needed a faster car to get you around.”

Cat starred back at him in shock. “My father bought this?”

“Yeah, he said the old Lincoln needed to be replaced anyway, so he let me pick the car. I was kind of joking when I showed him this one, but he liked it,” He smiled and looked back at the car to admire its sleek black curves

Slowly, a smile spread across Cat’s face that almost matched Seb’s. “How fast does it go?”

Seb smiled mischievously and bit his lip, “Want to see?”

After nearly getting whiplash several times, Cat was glad when Seb pulled the car to a stop in a parking lot. It took her a few minutes to catch her breath after the exhilarating ride and her driver watched her carefully. Mostly, he was concerned that he’d scared her, but he was also worried that she’d get sick- and that was not happening in this brand new car!

“Too fast? Too many corners? What’s wrong?” He turned to face her, trying to judge her reaction, but her face was unreadable.

“Well, Sebastian, the crab, first I have to say that this is the first time I’ve ridden in the front seat with my driver,” Cat looked back at him with a hint of a smile until they both started laughing, and glanced back at the lack of back seat in the small two-seat car. “However, that was also probably the fastest I’ve ever been in a car; that was almost like a rollercoaster.”

“So that was nicht gut,” Sebastian replied, and when Cat gave him a confused look, he corrected himself. “That was not good?”

“It wasn’t bad but….” Cat stared at him for a moment until it hit her. “You’re German!”

Seb laughed awkwardly, “Yes, I’m German, I thought you knew.”

“That’s cool; I’ve been to Germany a few times, it’s very beautiful. We went to Berlin for a while for something with Dad’s work, and we stayed somewhere in the Alps one winter to go skiing. I liked the Alps much better than I liked Berlin, it was kind of…”

“Boring?” Seb suggested and Cat nodded. “Yeah, for someone like you, Berlin would probably not be very fun. It still has a lot of eastern influences, but it has a historical aspect to it.”

“Which part are you from?” Cat asked.

“Kind of south-west, it’s very close to France,” he tried to explain, picturing a map of Germany in his head, and Cat nodded, though she wasn’t that familiar with Germany’s geography.

“France? I like France a lot,” Cat’s face lit up as she recalled the fun memories of staying in Paris with her Grandmother, and the South of France in the winter.

Seb glanced at his watch. “I should be getting you home. You have to be somewhere at 8 tonight.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me of that. I hate going to balls!” Cat pushed herself back in her seat more and braced herself as the car started moving again.

Seeing this, Seb laughed, “Don’t worry, I’ll drive a little more carefully. And what do you hate about it? I thought girls liked getting dressed up.”

“It’s not that, though that does get annoying after a while. It’s because I, um,” Cat paused. “I never have a date.”

“What? Why not? A pretty girl like you can’t get a date?”

“I’m not allowed to,” Cat rolled her eyes and Seb glanced at her as he slowed to pull in to their gated driveway. He stopped long enough to type in the gate code before accelerating thought the barely open gates. “Dad’s really strict about that kind of stuff. He’s tried to set me up with some diplomat’s son, or the grandson of one of the Kennedy’s, or the nephew of a Duke or an Earl, people I’m not at all interested in.”

“He’s just trying to protect you,” Seb replied, with no enthusiasm behind his words. As much as he wanted to do whatever his new employer wanted, he didn’t exactly understand why a 21 year old girl wasn’t allowed to date.

“I’ve gotten pretty good at sneaking out, or saying I’m out with friends, when I’m actually hooking up with some guy,” Cat flashed a mischievous smile as she gathered her purse and school bag before getting out of the car. “Will you be driving me tonight?” Cat leaned over and looked in the open passenger-side window.

“Yes, but probably not in this,” he pointed toward the Ferrari, which he was still sitting in, engine idling. “Whatever I’m driving, I’ll be here at 7:30.”

Cat waved goodbye and skipped up the marble steps that led to the front door. Before she could get her keys out to unlock it, the heavy oak door swung open.

“Miss Catherine, your father is waiting for you in the study,” Gibbons, an impossibly uptight British butler, said in his impeccable accent. Gibbons had come stateside with Cat’s father in the 1980s when he moved his international corporation to New York City from London, and Cat has tried countless times to make him smile, or break somehow. But he was always that same calm, polite, gentleman who attended to his employers every need.

“There you are Catherine,” her father said in his slightly less impeccable accent. He was from a different part of England than Gibbons, or maybe Gibbons had learned the proper upper class British accent in ‘Butler School’ or wherever he came from. Actually, Cat’s father had what is commonly called a cockney accent, and his background matched the traits most associated with it (i.e. lower class), and this was something he reminded Cat of every chance he got.

“What’s up?” Cat sat in the seat across from him and slouched.

“Sit up, it’s bad for your spine to sit like that. I just wanted to ask if you would mind being the date of one of the European diplomat’s sons tonight,” he asked casually, as if it wasn’t a big deal. And to Cat, it wasn’t, since she’d done this a dozen times before.

“Do I really have a choice?” Cat asked, looking up from her phone.

“You always have a choice, Catherine, but he really is a fine young gentleman, I don’t see why you could object,” her father gave her one of those looks that said ‘you’re doing this,’ and she sighed.

“Fine,” she rolled out of the chair she was slumped in and started to leave the study.

“Mlle. Charlotte will be here soon to do your hair, so go take a shower,” her father shouted after her, as if she was still a child.

After an hour of getting her hair pulled and pinned and curled, and having her eyes poked with mascara, Cat was finally able to put on her dress and look in the mirror. She’d been fitted for the dress several weeks before and had already forgotten what was supposed to look like, so she was genuinely surprised when she stood in front of the mirror and saw a beautiful princess staring back at her. She looked like something out of a Disney movie, and Cat loved it.

“Tres belle, you just need a prince charming,” Mlle. Charlotte said with her thick French accent as she admired Cat in the mirror.

And then, as if on cue, Gibbons knocked on the door gently and informed Cat that her ride had arrived and was waiting for her. Still caught up in the idea of the beautiful dress, Cat half expected to see Seb driving a horse drawn carriage. However, when she emerged from the front door and began descending the marble steps, she found Seb standing next to a different shiny black car: a Rolls-Royce Phantom. He opened the back door for her, like a proper chauffeur, and put on his black hat before getting in the driver’s seat.

“Wait, you’re on the wrong side,” Cat said, with a twinge of terror in her voice.

“Yes, this is a British car, your father had it imported from his home country and he insisted it ‘look proper.’ I don’t mind though, I’ve driven all sorts of cars,” he smiled back at her in the rear-view mirror and she slowly relaxed, realizing there was actually nothing wrong. “You look very beautiful tonight Miss Catherine, if I may say that.”

Cat found herself blushing, and it surprised her. She got compliments often enough, but they were normally cordial, polite, conversational pieces; she’d never actually considered the thought that someone thought she looked beautiful, or even mildly attractive. “Thank you, and don’t call me that,” she laughed and he smiled back at her.

“You look like Cinderella. You know, when she went to the ball,” Seb glanced back at her in the mirror again and she bit her lip. This was the second time someone had called her a princess, and it only reminded her that she didn’t know who her prince charming was for the night.

But she would meet him soon enough, for he was already at the ball. His mother, the European diplomat, had talked him into coming because he would get to have a beautiful young girl as a date, and that was something he liked: beautiful girls. He watched the cars as they came up the driveway and stopped in front of the grand staircase that led up to the entrance of the ball, watching for his date.

Someone nudged his shoulder and pointed to a car that had just come around the bend. “That’s her father’s car, she’s in the one behind.” His eyes quickly shifted from the white limo that apparently held her father, to the black Phantom that followed it. As the limo drove away and the black car took its place at the foot of the stairs, he walked to the top of the short flight of steps. The driver got out of the right side of the car, which was a bit of a surprise, but he thought nothing of it. He was focused on the girl emerging from the back seat, and he completely ignored the chauffeur standing next to her opened door.

“Are you my date tonight?” She asked as she gathered herself after getting out of the car. She looked up at the man dressed in a white military uniform and he nodded. “I guess I’ve found my prince charming after all.” She laughed as she said this and began walking up the steps toward him. But after climbing two steps, she tripped. She was only three steps from the top, so her date moved closer to help her, while at the bottom of the steps, her driver rushed forward to catch her. However, all Cat noticed was the man in white catching her before she fell flat on her face. Seb slowly walked back to the car and, before taking one last glance at Cat and her date, he climbed in the driver’s seat and drove away. He tried not to, but he watched the pair glide off toward the ballroom, arm in arm.


	3. Prince Charming Part 2

For the first time since he started his new job, Sebastian felt like a chauffeur. He was the invisible person who got the occupant of the car from one place to another. He sat in the Phantom, with the engine off, absently sliding his gloved hands over the smooth leather steering wheel. He pictured them over and over, walking up those marble steps. ‘I don’t even want to know what they’re doing right now,’ he said to himself and closed his eyes, letting his head tilt back against the head rest. Sudden images from that frightful race several months ago flashed through his brain, and his eyes shot open. He blinked a few times to clear his memory of the flames and pieces of burning car. ‘I need to go fast, I need to race,’ he said irritably as he sat up and started the Phantom. ‘But not in this car,’ he thought as he drove off into the night.

After the formal introductions were over, the rest of the night could begin. The ‘fun part,’ as Cat’s date called it. They were seated at a table far away from her father, which Cat enjoyed, but very close to the bar, which her date enjoyed. She had yet to see him without a glass of scotch in his hand, his perfectly gloved hand. As she admired his white gloves, she had a faint glimpse of a memory from that evening of a black gloved hand helping her out of the car, but other than that she had no thoughts of her driver at all. And how could she, with an actual prince charming next to her all night. She glanced back up him in his impeccable white uniform.

“Would you like anything else to drink?” He asked and she politely declined. She looked down at her untouched glass of champagne and decided to take a sip, even though she didn’t like it. She scrunched up her nose as the bubbles tickled her throat.

“You don’t like champagne much?” her date laughed as he sat down next to her. “Why don’t I get you something else?”

Cat thought about it before declining again. “I really shouldn’t, I’m supposed to be on my best behavior for my dad’s colleagues, impress them or something…” Cat trailed off and changed the subject before he could try to offer her any more alcohol. “So, Heikki, you’re a Lieutenant in the Finnish Navy? What’s that like; do you get to fight pirates or anything exciting?” Cat laughed in a girly/polite kind of way and smiled.

“No, no pirates,” he laughed and set his glass down for the first time that night. “It’s a nice job. I rose through the ranks fast probably because my mother is a diplomat, not because I’m particularly fantastic at being a sailor, or had high scores at university,” he sighed, and sounded slightly resentful of that fact, “but I get to go to fun events like this, and meet beautiful American heiress’s like you.”

He smiled, and his prefect, white, shining teeth almost dazzled Cat into forgetting that he had just called her an heiress. She wasn’t really an heiress, not yet at least. She still lived at home and had everything paid for with ‘daddy’s credit card.’ She hated being one of those girls, getting labeled as ‘the rich girl’ before she even had a chance to prove herself, and now her prince charming had just done the same thing. Her face must have been showing all of these feelings, because he instantly tried to retract his statement.

“I mean you’re like, um, American royalty or something, you’re upper class, and smart, and educated- you said you were studying something like science, what was it…” he was frantically trying to cover his tracks, prove he had actually been listening to her and not just admiring the way her low-cut, periwinkle dress clung to her midsection.

“Environmental engineering.” Cat replied in a flat tone.

“Exactly. Environmental engineering; it was on the tip of my tongue, I just couldn’t quite remember. So how did you get into that field?” he asked, and Cat dove into the usual explanation she gives everyone who asks. No, she was not pushed into it by her father. Yes, she was aware that there were not many girls in engineering. Yes, the environment had been a huge passion of hers since she was young. And no, she didn’t just do it because caring for the environment was ‘popular’ and ‘trendy’ or anything else like that.

“So what did your dad want you to study instead?” he asked, now looking genuinely interested.

“Business, like he had studied, but I’m not good at that,” Cat sighed.

“I completely understand. I kind of got pushed into the Navy by my mom, because that’s what my dad had done. And he died when I was so young that I kind of idolized him, and I wanted to do this in his memory, but…” he leaned forward and his face drew in, lined with seriousness. “I sometimes feel like I’m in something way over my head. I’m pretty sure I’ve only gotten promoted because of my mom’s influence, or because my father was an important admiral.” Heikki stared into his glass while Cat watched him thoughtfully, wondering if this is what he told all the girls.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be rambling about stuff like that,” he said as he sat up, looking a little embarrassed as he self consciously ran a hand through his perfect hair. “I don’t even know why I told you that; I guess you’re so easy to talk to.” He laughed nervously and looked at Cat, taking in her soft brown eyes for the first time. She may seem plain at a first glance, even all dressed up as she was tonight. She unfortunately inherited her father’s British features, including dull brown eyes, and even duller brown hair. She had her mother’s nose and jaw, which she was thankful for, but she always wished she wasn’t quite so average looking.

“Hey, do you want to step outside for a minute, get some fresh air? It’s kind of stuffy in here,” he said as he stood up. Cat sighed and reluctantly got up after him. He held out his arm for her, and she draped her thin, gloved hand around his elbow and let him lead her outside. He held the big glass door to the balcony open for her and let it close behind them, blocking out the bustling noise of the ball. It suddenly felt so much more intimate, the two of them alone on this big, empty, balcony. He leaned against the railing and set his ever present glass of scotch on it. He leaned against the railing and carefully surveyed the well manicured landscape below.

“How far up do you think we are?” Cat asked as she leaned over the balcony far enough to see the ground clearly.

“Maybe fifteen meters?” Heikki guessed after trying to gage the distance. Cat looked down over the edge of the balcony at the garden far below.

“I’d love to be down there, walking in the garden, instead of up here,” she gestured back toward the ball, still thriving behind them.

“Yeah?” Heikki got a mischievous grin and took her hand. “Then let’s find a way down there.” They slipped back through the big glass doors and skirted around the outside of the ballroom until they found what looked like a service exit for the caterers. Cat giggled as he helped her down a back staircase into a part of the estate they were obviously not supposed to be in. After trying a few doors, Heikki found one that opened and pulled Cat through. She laughed as they appeared in the beautiful garden she had been admiring ten minutes ago from up on the balcony. After taking one last glance at the balcony, Cat and Heikki disappeared into the hedges of the garden to get lost in its twists and turns.

After exploring nearly the entire garden, they found a bridge over a little fish pond. They stood on it, looking over the edge of the railing at the fish swimming among the lily pads. Cat couldn’t decide if they were koi fish or not, though Heikki was sure they were.

“I’m a lieutenant in the navy, trust me,” he said sarcastically and she laughed. “You have a lovely laugh, Cat. Has anyone ever told you that?”

“I-I don’t know if they have,” she replied hesitantly, having never actually been told that before. She smiled shyly and looked down, hoping he wouldn’t see her blushing. He carefully placed his thumb under her chin and slowly pulled her face up.

“You don’t need to hide; you’re beautiful,” he smiled as she blushed even more. “Now, you must know that, at least. You probably see yourself in the mirror every day, you must know how beautiful you are, right?” He laughed as she started to shake her head. “Then that means you haven’t been told enough. Girls who know they’re beautiful hear it every day, but girls who are truly beautiful, like you, will always blush when they hear a compliment like that.”

She turned her head slightly and her hair fell away from her face, exposing her cheek. Taking this hint, Heikki leaned closer to her, and paused centimeters away from her face. He could see her heart beating faster, her breathing shorter, and her pink, flushed skin. He quickly moved in those last few inches and kissed her cheek tenderly. As he pulled away she turned slowly to meet his gaze. Fiercely, almost desperately, she jerked forward and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Just as Heikki was beginning to respond to it, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Cat!” Her father’s coarse accent shocked her back to reality. Heikki immediately stopped and turned around. He braced himself for some kind of verbal or physical response from her father, but he wasn’t even looking at him. Instead, Cat’s father was watching her closely.

“We’ve been looking for you, you can’t run off like that.” He scolded her, like she was a child, and grabbed her hand. “Come on, let’s go.”

“I’m terribly sorry, sir,” Heikki apologized.

“Albert, nice to meet you,” her father brusquely introduced himself, only glancing at Heikki long enough to make eye contact, before turning back to Cat.

“But dad!” She protested as he pulled her through the garden, Heikki not far behind.

“Nope, I’ve already called your driver, you’re going home.” He practically pushed her around the corner of the house and onto the gravel driveway. As they were walking toward the marble steps, where just a few hours earlier Cat had tripped and fallen into Heikki’s arms, they heard the sound of screeching tires followed by the unmistakable sound of a car sliding on gravel. They all tensed as they waited for whatever was coming around the bend; Heikki moved a step closer to Cat.

Headlights illuminated the decorative trees that lined the driveway and as it became apparent that there was a car heading down the drive way at impeccable speed. Cat’s father tried to pull her

back a few steps, but she stayed where she was a smile on her face. She knew exactly who this was, and she knew he wouldn’t hurt her.

The black Ferrari came around the last corner and into view of Cat, Heikki, and her father. Seb pulled the car up to Cat and stopped shortly, splashing gravel several feet away from the tires. He dutifully got out of the car, with a huge grin on his face.

“Good evening Miss Catherine!” He called to her as he opened the door for her. Cat giggled as she slipped into the car, and Seb tipped his hat at Albert before getting back into the driver’s seat. He revved the engine several times before taking off into the night, leaving as quickly and immodestly as he had come.

“Bollocks!” Albert swore as the car sped out of sight. He chuckled tirdly and shook his head. “This is what I get for hiring a Formula 1 driver to be my daughter’s chauffeur.”


	4. He's What?

Sebastian made sure Cat forgot about whomever that white-gloved, blond haired sailor was (as Seb referred to him) as he drove her home. It’s hard to think of anything when you’re speeding around tight corners in the dark, worrying that your insane chauffeur might kill someone. He slowly drove up her driveway, trying to think of something to say to Cat before dropping her off in front of her house. The car crawled to a stop and he waited a second before getting out to open her door. Cat sat still, her mind still catching up after their exciting drive home.

Seb stood next to her open door, waiting for her to get out of the car. “Miss Catherine?” He finally said after she didn’t move for a minute.

“Yes, I’m sorry, I was just…” she slowly climbed out of the car, but lost her footing. She fell right into her driver’s arms in the most uncoordinated, unattractive, clumsy, way.

“Are you okay?” Seb asked as he caught her and tried to help her up, but she leaned on him limply. He looked up toward the house for Gibbons, but the butler had long since gone to bed. It was close to midnight, and Seb didn’t know if anyone else would be awake. “Can you walk, or do you want me to carry you?”

“No, I’m fine,” Cat started to mumble and tried to take a step forward, but fell back into his arms. In one swift motion he swooped her up into his arms and carried her toward the house.

“I think it’s time for sleeping beauty to get to bed, eh?” He glanced down at her in her princess dress as he opened the door. Once inside, he got her up the stairs and realized he didn’t know where her room was. There were too many to choose from and one didn’t stand out as being Cat’s bedroom. “Which one is yours?” He whispered to her. 

‘Third floor,” she said sleepily through half closed eyes.

“Third floor,” Seb groaned, but he carried her up the last flight of stairs and at the top was a room that was very obviously Cat’s. It had light pink walls, and big, white, fluffy canopy bed, and an antique white writing desk in the corner with her macbook balanced on the edge of it. Seb carried her to the bed and gently set her on the edge of it, helping her sit up. “Are you all set?” He started to turn to leave, but saw she was falling over. 

“I can’t sleep in this dress.” She began pulling at the zipper on the back, but couldn’t reach it. Seb hesitated and slowly reached forward to unzip the back of her dress. ‘If Albert ever saw this…’ He muttered under his breath in German, but Cat made no note of even noticing he was talking. He turned away as Cat started to climb out of her dress. When she stopped moving, he looked back to find her lying face down on the bed, almost completely naked. He gingerly covered her with a blanket from the foot of her bed before leaving. He took one last look at her beautiful sleeping face before quietly closing her door.

Cat did not awake the next morning thinking it was odd that her chauffeur had helped her out of her dress, in fact, she barely remembered it. All she could think about was the gorgeous guy she’d met the night before, and that was all she thought about for the next week. She was more than eager to agree to see him again, even if it meant playing golf with her dad’s friends. He always invited her to play each weekend, but most of the time she declined. She appeared disinterested, “Oh, sure dad, I’ll play, I guess….” But really she was more than excited to get dressed up in her cutest golf outfit for Heikki. 

She even took the time to get her nails done, something she hated. Cat brought her best friend Charlotte along, since Cat didn’t really like getting her nails done, and she wanted to talk to someone about her new crush.

Their nails were almost done by the time she could bring it up, since Charlotte had talked about her vacation in Scotland almost non-stop.

“I think I have a crush,” Cat said quietly, once Charlotte stopped talking.

“Is it Landon again?” Her friend gave her a disappointed look and Cat shook her head.

“No, he’s new, I don’t think you’ve met him,” Cat was sure she hadn’t met him, and Char gave her a questioning look. “He’s blond, and he has the most beautiful blue eyes-”

“Oh my God! It’s your new driver, isn’t it?!” Char interrupted. “He is really cute.”

Cat stared at her. “What?”

“Your chauffeur, what did you say his name was?” Char asked.

“Seb, but that’s not-” Cat was cut off again.

“Yes! Sebby! You’ve never noticed how cute he is?” Char asked, and Cat shook her head, completely confused.

After telling Char about Heikki, Cat pondered what her friend had told her. Seb was cute? Certainly he was more attractive than Devers, her last driver, but that’s because he was at least 65 and he’d always been a kind of grandfatherly figure to Cat. But Seb was… attractive? Cat thought about this, perhaps a little too deeply, as she rode home. Up until that point she’d seen him as a friend, someone around her own age that she could hang out with and talk about stuff.

But when Heikki came a long, Seb became invisible. This has happened to countless guys who had platonic friendships with girls; there’s always one person who wished it was a little more than just friendship.

“Miss Catherine, do you need me to carry you upstairs again,” Seb joked, and Cat realized they had stopped, and were in front of her house. She looked up at him as he stood by her open door.

“Again?” She asked, confused.

“Never mind,” Seb laughed and Cat got out.

“And what did I say about calling me ‘Miss Catherine’?” She shot him a teasing glance. “Will you drive my golf cart tomorrow?”

“I can if you’d like,” Seb laughed in an ironic way, and Cat didn’t quite understand why.

“Okay! I’ll see you at 8 tomorrow,” she waved goodbye and skipped off toward the house. She tried to ignore what Charlotte had told her, because it wasn’t true, right? He did have very blue eyes, though they sometimes seemed sad and troubled. Other than that, Cat decided that Char was probably just teasing her.

Cat spent several hours finding the right outfit and perfecting her hair the next morning, She finally settled on a white skirt and a green polo that sometimes brought out the barely-visible hazel tones in her eyes. Cat was so excited to see Heikki that she didn’t even think of what Char had told her yesterday until they got to the golf course. There were only a few people in their group, most of them Cat’s dad’s friends, and Heikki, of course.

Heikki looked very handsome in his golf outfit, and when he smiled, Cat forgot anything about her chauffeur being attractive.

“There’s my princess,” he said with a swoon-worthy grin. Cat felt her heart start to flutter and tried to find a clever response.

“Yup, here I am,” that was the best she could come up with. She felt her cheeks turning red with embarrassment, but Heikki didn’t seem to notice. He put his arm around her and gave her a quick hug before picking up her golf clubs. He carried them to the cart Sebastian had pulled up, and did a double take when Seb turned to greet them. Cat assumed it was because Seb was not wearing his usual chauffeur outfit, instead wearing something more appropriate for the golf course. Heikki didn’t say anything about it, but while they played he kept glancing back at Seb, as if to make sure he was still there.

They pulled up to the last hole a little later than the rest of the group. Cat overheard some of their conversation as she got her golf clubs off of the cart.

“Albert, you sly bastard,” her dad’s friend, Clint, said to Albert with an amused grin. “Is that really Sebastian Vettel driving your daughter’s golf cart?”

“It sure is,” Albert replied smugly.

“You’ve never been one to be….modest, but really? This is a little over the top. I mean, who is her caddy, Tiger Woods?” Clint chuckled.

“Oh no, I wouldn’t let Tiger Woods near my daughter,” Albert laughed. “But really, it’s not as bad as it seems. Sebastian was looking for something to do after his…sudden retirement. Just something to do until everything blew over.”

Clint gave Albert a serious look, and Albert shook his head slightly. Cat wondered what they were talking about, or how Clint even knew who Seb was.

“What are they talking about?” She whispered to Heikki while Seb talked with some of her dad’s friends.

Heikki cleared his throat and looked around uncomfortable. “You mean you don’t know?”

“No. What are they talking about?” Cat asked with a concerned tone. She was worried that Seb was a serial killer, or a rapist, or in some kind of trouble. He’d always been so nice to her, and they were almost friends now.

“I’m assuming you’ve never watched Formula 1, or any kind of car racing,” Heikki started, and Cat shook her head. Car racing wasn’t really her thing. Heikki nodded his head toward Seb and continued. “So, your chauffeur over there is a four time world champion F1 driver.” He paused to let that sink in. Cat stared at him in shock, eyebrows cocked in confusion.

“Then why the hell is he driving me around? Doesn’t he have more important things to do?” Cat was freaking out. There must be something wrong with him if he would give up that to be a chauffeur.

“It’s complicated…I’m not entirely sure what happened, but there was a lot of tension after a particularly bad crash that left another driver in pretty bad shape. Maybe you should ask him about it,” Heikki suggested, but Cat shook her head.

“If he’s trying to get away from that I should just leave him alone,” Cat thought for a minute, a million thoughts running through her head. “No wonder he drives like that,” she laughed, thinking of their ride back from the ball.

“Yeah, I bet that would be pretty scary to drive with someone like that,” Heikki said with a concerned tone.

“No, I always felt safe, but it was exciting, like a roller coaster,” Cat explained, her mind still racing. She spent the rest of the evening trying to block out what Heikki had told her, but the car ride home at the end of the day was awkward.

“So, you used to be a racecar driver,” Cat said quietly as Seb drove her home. She glanced at him and he was smiling, so she relaxed a little.

“Yes, is it that obvious?” He joked in his usual light tone.

“No, I overheard my dad’s friend talking to you. But it makes sense,” she smiled, and wanted to ask him what happened, but she dropped it. Instead she thanked him for being her golf cart driver and said she had a fantastic day.

That night she couldn’t fall asleep, but she was not kept up by thoughts of Heikki, like she thought she would be. Instead, it was what he’d told her that kept her awake. After an hour of tossing and turning and trying to clear her head, Cat pulled out her phone. She typed Seb’s name into the search bar and waited a minute before hitting ‘search.’ Cat didn’t want to know the details, but at the same time, she had to know what happened.

After an hour of reading articles, his Wikipedia page, and watching countless interviews, she was shocked at what she had learned about her driver.


	5. It's Just Coffee... right?

Cat canceled her plans the next day, claiming she had a headache, but really she just wasn’t ready to face her driver yet. She was supposed to see Heikki, whom she had completely forgotten about when she learned Seb’s true identity. She suddenly saw everything: the subtle worry lines in his forehead, the tiredness hidden behind the glint in his eyes, the sad, forlorn look he sometimes got when he thought no one was looking. These were his battle scars, the remnants of a past life he wished he could forget about and hide from. They were the reminders of everything he lost; everything he’d worked so hard for, lost in a single afternoon, a split second of indecision.

The one thing Cat couldn’t get over was what happened to the other diver involved. Seb walked away from the crash, but the other driver, his best friend, was left clinging to his life. It had been several moths and it still was not known if he would survive or not, or even how severe his injuries were. What little Cat knew about car racing and F1, she knew that was a bad crash. She also thought it was ironic that the car Seb had bought to replace the old Lincoln was a Ferrari. Very ironic.

The next day she again tried to stay home, but her dad insisted she not miss this appointment. He almost called it a date, but he didn’t want to push the fact that he would be more than happy if Cat and Heikki had some kind of relationship.

“Can’t I just drive myself?” Cat complained over breakfast.

“Nonsense, Sebastian will be here in thirty minutes. Besides, since when do you know how to drive?” Albert eyed his daughter curiously. Raised in the city, and with a chauffeur always available, he never felt it necessary for her to take driving lessons.

“Seb’s been teaching me to drive; I’m actually getting good enough to maybe pass my driver’s test,” Cat smiled up at her dad, though she knew he was unhappy. This was the last thing he wanted to hear: his daughter was getting diving lessons from a disgraced racecar driver. 

“No, Mr. Vettel will drive you…and please don’t call him ‘Seb.’ It makes it sound like you two are friends or something,” her father replied, giving her one last concerned look, before leaving her alone, a look that said ‘don’t you dare think of becoming friends with (or something more than friends) with this guy’. Completely unready to face Seb (Cat was not going to call him Mr. Vettel), she took her time eating breakfast, and rushed to get dressed and brush her teeth before he arrived. When she finally skipped down the front steps, she found him waiting in the Ferrari. Cat had a sudden flash of the pictures and articles she’d read a few days before, the sight of the crashed and mangled Ferrari F1 car still haunting her memory. She carefully slipped into the passenger seat next to Seb and tried not to look at him.

He seemed tense. They were quiet for a few minutes. “So, you’re going on a date.” He stated, more than asked.

“Is that what my dad called it?” Cat tried to laugh it off, but she couldn’t hide the uneasiness in her tone. “It’s just coffee with Heikki, nothing special.”

“That blond guy you played golf with the other day?” Seb sounded slightly judgmental, but tried to sound conversationally curious.

“Yes, he’s in the Finnish Navy; I’m not sure how long he’s on leave, but I think he said he had a few months off. He was much better at golf than I expected, but I guess I assumed that he didn’t get many opportunities to play golf if he was always on a boat, or out on the ocean,” Cat realized she was gushing and stopped. Seb seemed even less amused than he had been before.

“Yes, well, guys like that tend to have those kinds of skills: golfing, tennis… I bet he goes shooting on the weekend, too,” He replied.

“What do you mean ‘Guys like that?’ You mean because he’s in the Navy?” Cat turned to face him, noticing his annoyed expression for the first time, and immediately regretted asking him that. He looked like he might snap at her.

“No, but those are the kinds of things you might find people with money doing, and he seems like the kind of guy who likes to hang out with people who have money,” Seb explained, feeling a little apologetic. Perhaps it wasn’t his place to be saying this to Cat, but he was concerned. Cat was quiet for a minute, thinking this over, and Seb worried he had offended her.

“He did call me an heiress the night we first met,” Cat said quietly, replaying that conversation in her head. “But he was so…charming, I guess that’s the word. He was so charming that I forgot about it." 

“I’m not saying he’s after your money, but look closely and you’ll see signs of it. He doesn’t come from money, but he pretends and hides it very well. I used to know people like that,” he added, with a quick glance at her that told her he knew that she knew who he was. Cat didn’t know what to say to that.

“Thanks, I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for that,” she said as they pulled up to the café where she was supposed to meet Heikki. With one last smile at Seb, she hopped out of the car and walked a few feet before she heard him take off into the busy New York traffic. She looked after him for a few seconds, rethinking what he’d warned her, when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

“Hey, how are you?” Heikki said with his perfect accent that Cat loved a little too much. Her frown twitched into a smile as she turned to face him

“I’m fine, thanks,” she laughed, suddenly at a loss for words as he smiled that gorgeous smile that showed off his beautiful teeth.

“You said you had a headache yesterday, are you feeling better now?” He asked, brows furrowing just enough to show he was concerned. (Cat was too distracted by his smile to question whether that concern was genuine or not.)

“Yes, I’m much better now,” she blushed and almost started giggling when she stopped herself. “Why don’t we get some coffee?” She nodded toward the coffee shop they had been standing in front of, taking up space on the busy sidewalk. Heikki held the door for her, and even offered to pay, but realized he ‘didn’t have enough American money with him at the time.’ Cat immediately thought of what Seb had warned her about, but dismissed those thoughts. ‘It’s just coffee,’ she thought, ‘He isn’t trying to steal my trust fund…’ Cat soon forgot about this when Heikki smiled again.

After coffee, they walked a few blocks to the park. They were the only people in the small, secluded park since it had started to drizzle. Heikki pulled Cat under a tree where they were shielded from the rain. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they sat on a park bench, watching the light rain.

“This is actually kind of nice,” he remarked, casually pulling her a little closer. Cat agreed, and was about to comment on the weather they’d been experiencing that summer when her phone buzzed. Instinctively, she pulled out her phone to see who had texted her, and frowned when she saw it.

“Who is it?” Heikki asked, sounding slightly protective/concerned.

“It’s my driver; he just wants to know when I’ll need to be picked up,” Cat explained and texted him that she didn’t know.

“I guess Vettel’s still getting used to being a chauffeur,” Heikki commented with a slightly malicious grin.

“No, he’s doing really well. He’s even teaching me how to drive,” Cat added proudly, although most people she knew her age already knew how to drive.

“I just think it’s odd….” Heikki started, and thought for a moment. “After what he did…and now your dad wants him to drive you around?”

“From what I read, it wasn’t really his fault. And he’s certainly a different driver off the track; I have never once felt unsafe with him. But my dad likes to show off his money, so I’m not surprised he asked a four time world champion driver to be my chauffeur,” Cat glanced at Heikki and saw a slight twitch in his perfect, charming façade. 

“No, the crash was definitely his fault, and he clearly could have prevented it,” Heikki responded with a surprising amount of emotion. “I’m sorry, that was out of place. It’s just that the guy he hit was from my home country and my favorite driver.” 

“I’m so sorry; I guess you must really hate Seb,” Cat noticed that Heikki almost flinched when she called him ‘Seb,’ but he didn’t say anything.

“No, I don’t hate him, but that is one of the reasons I’m not overly fond of him,” Heikki did not elaborate what he meant by this.

“From what I’ve read, the other driver’s condition is unknown. Have you heard anything about him?” Cat asked.

“About Kimi? No, he has completely disappeared; I guess he’s in a rehabilitation center in Switzerland, but no one really knows exactly what’s wrong with him. It was speculated that he might not walk again, but not much is really known about his injuries,” Heikki said mournfully and shook his head. He was quiet for a minute, and Cat tried to think of something consoling to say. She tried to put her hand on his leg comfortingly, but it ended up being an uncoordinated knee pat/awkward caressing.

“Looks like it has stopped raining,” he observed, putting his hand lightly on her hand to stop her from any further embarrassment and Cat nodded. 

“Yup, looks like it has,” she pulled her hand away and blushed. Every time she tried to show she liked him, she ended up embarrassing herself and proving that she had no idea what she was doing. And every time, she was reminded that Heikki knew exactly what he was doing, and that made her a little uneasy. They stood up and slowly began strolling along the path back toward the street. Cat texted Seb where to pick her up, and hoped he would be a few minutes late. She wanted an excuse to spend a couple more minutes with Heikki, even though all she seemed to be doing was humiliating herself.

But of course, Seb arrived on time, if not early, saving her from any further embarrassment. She gave Heikki a brief hug good bye while Seb opened the door for her. 

“And thanks for the coffee!” Heikki said as she got in the car.

“No problem, anytime!” She replied before shutting the door. Seb pulled away quickly and they rode out of the city in silence.

“So, you bought him coffee?” Seb asked suspiciously, raising one eyebrow as if to say ‘I told you so.’

“It was just coffee!” She gently hit his arm playfully and couldn’t help a smile from creeping up around the corner of her lips.

“I’m sorry,” he smiled back at her. “I was being stupid, just ignore me. But I still think I’m right about him. Or, maybe he doesn’t care about your money, maybe he loves your outgoing, laid back personality,” Seb teased, and earned another light smack from Cat.

“Shut up,” she laughed, but he teased her all the way home. As distracting as that was, she still couldn’t stop thinking about that crash. She wanted to know if the other driver was okay, if not to satisfy her own curiosity, for Seb’s sake. Cat was determined to find out what happened to Kimi Raikkonen.


	6. Summer Nights

Cat was in a serious dilemma. The past few weeks, she had fallen hopelessly for Heikki. They had been on countless romantic dates, ranging from casual (a day at the beach) to formal (a night at the opera, which Cat loved, mostly because Heikki wore his military uniform.) It was almost like a fairytale, but like all fairytales, it must have an ending.

As she rode home from her latest adventure with Heikki, Seb noticed she was a little quieter than usual. “Is everything all right?” He asked, glancing at her. She looked a little sad, just staring blankly out the window.

“Heikki’s going back to Finland soon,” she sighed dramatically, as if it would somehow make it better. “Maybe I’ll just follow him back to Europe…. That kind of makes me sound stalkerish, doesn’t it?”

Seb grinned, although it could have been mistaken for a grimace. “It might be construed that way, although if he felt the same way, then I’m sure he’d find it…adorable, or something.”

Cat detected a not-so-subtle tone of boredom/irritation in his reply and it sent another prickle of anxiety down her spine. Instead of being annoyed at his tone, or insulted, she was, in a way, scared. Scared and excited, and a little confused. Despite being blindingly in love with Heikki, there was one thing she had slowly become aware of over the past few weeks. She’d come to the conclusion that Seb had some kind of feelings for her, but it was complicated. Like, he felt guilty about liking her.

Cat assumed it was because he worked for her father and he felt it would be wrong for him to have feelings for his employer’s daughter, so she just tried to ignore it.

But she couldn’t. She was slowly, and regrettably, realizing that she perhaps had the same feelings for him. It was different from the way she felt about Heikki. With Heikki, it was an intoxicating, fluttering kind of euphoric attraction that was almost like a drug, a subtle lightening. He always knew the right thing to say when Cat felt insecure or when she was awkward (which was pretty often), and he always had something fun or romantic planned. The best part was that her father already liked him. A lot. Perhaps a little too much.

Cat’s feelings toward Seb were still a little ambiguous. It was like he was her best friend, but it was more than that. Even before she knew he was a famous racecar driver, she got butterflies whenever she got in the car with him, and it wasn’t because of the way he drove.

Currently, they were racing through the outskirts of the city after Cat and Heikki’s final date, Cat was lost in thougth, replaying their last few moments togehter.

Heikki had waited until the end of their date to tell her, he said he didn’t want to ruin it. They were taking a walk after getting dinner at a nice restaurant (which she’d paid for), though she didn’t mind paying for him, especially when he wore his uniform, like he had tonight. She hadn’t expected him to be wearing it, but she obviously wasn’t going to complain.

“I thought you were wearing black tonight; if I’d known you were going to wear white I would have worn something that matched better,” Cat joked, noting her black dress.

“Cat, you look beautiful no matter what you wear,” he took her arm in his and led her down the sidewalk. “Why don’t we take a walk, it’s a nice night.”

They walked slowly, enjoying the warm August night. It was surprisingly quiet for a Saturday evening, the city seemed to be asleep. Cat was thinking about how amazing her summer had been, almost like a dream, when Heikki interrupted her thoughts.

“Cat, I want you to know how much I regret having to tell you this,” he paused, and swallowed, as if he was fighting back his emotions. Cat’s heart started to beat so fast it leapt up into her throat. “I swear, this was unexpected, I would have told you sooner if I’d known, but I have to go back to Finland this weekend. My leave has been cut short and I have to return to the Navy,” Heikki sighed, “So I can live on a boat for a few months.”

Cat fought back tears for a second before breaking down in choking, unattractive, sobs. As if on cue, Heikki handed her a neatly folded handkerchief and comfortingly wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t want it end so soon, but this situation with Russia has changed things and a lot of officers are being called off summer leave early,” Heikki explained, but Cat only heard one thing. She knew something had been happening between Russia and its neighboring countries, that wasn’t what surprised her.

“Did you say ‘end?’ You mean we’re-” Cat broke down in another fit of crying, unable to finish her sentence. She was going to say ‘breaking up,’ but she wasn’t entirely sure they were actually dating.

“No! I didn’t mean it like that,” Heikki quickly explained, a hint of panic in his voice. For a second, his façade broke, and if Cat had been looking, she would have seen the worry lines temporarily exposing the ‘real Heikki’ behind his outer shell. “I meant our time together, for now, is ending, that’s all. I thought I had a few more weeks of summer to spend with you before I had to leave.”

“Will I be able to see you again before you leave?” Cat looked up at him, not caring that her mascara was probably running down her face.

“I hope so, but if not, there’s something I’d like to do before I go,” he said as he wiped a few drying tears off her cheek. He leaned down and kissed her cheek lightly and gently held her face in both his hands. “I don’t know when, or if, I’ll be able to see you again. This situation with Russia is….tricky, and it could get a lot worse. I’m not trying to scare you, or anything,” he added when Cat took a sudden, short, breath, eyebrows raised in concern. “I don’t know what’s going to happen; we could go to war, or not. You never know with Russia.” He smiled a half/uncertain grin that Cat returned.

“And what is it you want to do before you leave?” Cat asked.

She saw a brief moment of hesitation in his eyes before he leaned down to kiss her on the lips. “Well,” he said as he pulled away, “First, I’d like to make sure that I’ll be able to call you my girlfriend when I telling my friends about the amazing girl I met over the summer,” he smiled that dazzling white, prince charming smile that made Cat melt a little each time.

“Of course, what else would you call me?” Cat smiled back at him.

“And secondly, if I’m going to have to go off to war, I want to spend at least one night with my girl,” he said, and looked down at her with a hint of something in his eyes Cat hadn’t seen before.

Her cheeks reddened slightly and she had to clear her throat before responding. “I think that could definitely be arranged.”

Heikki slipped something in her hand and leaned in to whisper in her ear before kissing her on the cheek, “Meet me here at 8:00 tomorrow night.”

He gave her a confident, yet mischievous smile before slipping into the building they had stopped walking in front of. Cat look up at the building and realized she was standing (rather awkwardly, in the middle of the sidewalk), in front of The Plaza. She’d been here several times for various functions, and although she’d never stayed here, she knew it was one of the most expensive hotels in New York City. 

‘How the hell is he paying for that?’ Cat wondered, when a hilarious thought snuck into her head, and she actually laughed out loud. What if her dad was paying for it?

“What’s so funny Miss Catherine?” Seb asked with a grin, standing next to the car with the door open, waiting for her.

She blushed, “I didn’t realize you were there. How long have you been watching us?”

“I just got here, don’t worry,” He winked as if to say ‘your secret’s safe with me,’ although he was one of the people Cat didn’t want knowing. Her dad would probably be happy if he knew what she and Heikki were up to, although Cat wasn’t entirely sure herself what that was. Without another word, Cat climbed in the car and they took off into the warm August night. Seb was chattering about something, Cat wasn’t really sure what, because her mind was far away. She looked down at the card Heikki had pressed into her hand before leaving and it was, as she thought, a room card for The Plaza. She looked out the window, blankly, as she tried to think over everything that’d happened that night, and if tomorrow night really meant what she thought it did. 

Whatever it meant, she was going to spend the entire night with Heikki, and whatever they did she’d love it because she wasn’t going to let the fact that it could be their last time together ruin it.


	7. The Side Effects of Having Money

After an absolutely rapturous night at The Plaza, Cat awoke to the sound of Heikki arguing with someone on the phone in Finnish on the terrace. He was speaking quietly, but she was pretty sure she heard her name a few times. He glanced at her a few times, and realized she was awake and staring back at him. He was mostly dressed, sipping a cup of coffee, and holding a newspaper (which he immediately pretended he was reading). His shirt was unbuttoned, exposing the sculpted abs Cat had often pictured (although they were better in person). She blinked as her vision slowly came into focus and ran a hand through her messed up hair. Compared to Heikki, she must have looked like a wreck, at least that’s what she thought.

“Good morning beautiful,” he said as he came back into the bedroom. He poured another cup of coffee and handed it to Cat. “I’ve ordered some breakfast from room service, I hope you don’t mind. It’s on the terrace.”

Cat stepped out on to the terrace and set her coffee cup on the table before admiring the view of New York below. Heikki wrapped his arm around her waist, lightly tracing her hip bone with his thumb. He leaned over and lightly trailed kisses down her neck, and even though her head was screaming ‘yes’ she gently stopped him.

“What’s wrong?” He asked and she turned to face him. “We only have a few hours left together before I leave, and I might not be back for months….I just thought we could-”

“Maybe after breakfast.” Cat smiled and kissed his cheek before turning to see what he’d gotten them for breakfast. “Strawberry crepes? My favorite, how did you know?”

Heikki sighed as he sat down across from her and looked frustrated (Cat assumed it was because he wasn’t used to being denied). For a second, she thought he was going to say something else, but he smiled his usual smile and returned to the Heikki Cat was used to seeing. “You told me about your trips to France to visit your grandmother, and how much you loved the crepes her personal chef made for you.”

“Thank you, these are almost better than ones I’ve had in Paris,” Cat replied after taking a bite. The rest of the morning continued in this pattern: moments of tension interrupting Heikki’s usually serene and confident disposition. Cat thought it was because he was being shipped off to deal with whatever was happening between Russia and Finland, potentially war, and excused his behavior as perfectly normal. He was being more physical than usual, which Cat didn’t mind at all, so the next time he asked, she did not decline his advances.

It was 2:00 in the afternoon by the time all of that ended, and Cat and Heikki reluctantly started packing to leave. He had spent the whole summer here, yet he didn’t have nearly as many things as Cat would have thought. Cat had fit almost all of her stuff into one bag, but she couldn’t find one, very important, thing. She searched the room one more time before reluctantly asking Heikki if he’d seen it.

“Medicine? What kind? Was it in bottle?” He asked, brows furrowed in concern.

“No, it was in a square, um, thing, and it looks-” She caught something out of the corner of her eye and turned back to face him. He had something square in his pocket, and the corner of it was pink, exactly like the pills she was looking for. Cat reached forward quickly and snatched it out of his pocket, and stared up at him in disbelief. “-like this! What the hell was my birth control doing in your pocket?”

His face froze with an unreadable expression. His heart started beating faster, and he was sure his cheeks were turning pink. “It’s not what you think,” he tried to smile. He reached out to lightly stroke her cheek but she pulled away.

“Then what is it!” Cat yelled. She shoved his hand away and took a few steps back.

“I-I just…” his mind was going a mile a minute trying to come up with a good excuse. He certainly was not going to tell her the real reason he had it. “I thought maybe if you forgot something important that you would come back for it. And what else would you notice more than this…hopefully…” He gave her a slight smile and counted the seconds before her icy cold/terrified expression changed.

“That’s…that’s kind of sweet, I guess,” Cat looked at him warily, not sure of what to think. She texted Seb to pick her up at The Plaza immediately and shoved her medicine safely in her purse. “I have to get going.”

“Okay,” he nodded, as if he realized there was really nothing more he could do. Cat slung her bag over her should and started to walk toward the door before she stopped to say one last thing to him. “I hope this was a mistake and we can get past it. And be safe, okay?”

Hot, angry, disappointed tears were running down her face by the time she reached the lobby. She rushed outside, hoping to see the black Ferrari waiting for her, but Seb was nowhere to be found. ‘This is what I get for sneaking out and not telling my driver where I’m actually going,’ she rolled her eyes and found a bench to sit on. She buried her face in her hands, and a few seconds later she heard the familiar sound of the Ferrari decelerating.

“I have never been happier to see you,” she said as she got into the car, ignoring Seb’s questions. “Let’s go. But not home, not yet at least. I need to calm down.” Seb took off into the city and Cat closed her eyes, letting the sound of the car’s revving engine distract her. After a while she realized they were out of the stop and go traffic and heading on a long straight stretch at some speed. Slowly opening her eyes, Cat saw trees and other signs that they were out of the city.

“Where are we?” She asked. “Is this Connecticut?”

“Yes, I hope that’s okay,” Seb said as they pulled off onto a side road. Cat looked out the window at their surroundings as they came to a relatively secluded area.

“Wait, I know where we are,” Cat said. “Are we going to the country house?” By ‘country house’ Cat meant, a small manor in the countryside. Her father sometimes spent weekends there, and it was one of her favorite places to relax. “How did you know?”

“You’re father requested I take you here,” Seb paused. “Actually, he told me to pick you up at The Plaza this morning. I was almost there when I got your text.”

“What?” Cat looked at him, and tried to think. “How did he know I was there? And why would he think I would want to come here after…”

“I don’t know, but he said he thought you might need ‘some cheering up’ or something,” Seb parked the car. “It’s not your birthday, is it?”

Cat shook her head. She sat in the car for a few minutes, lost in thought. ‘How was her father a part of this? Did he know what was really happening?’

“Cat?” Seb asked. He was leaning over the car door, waiting for her to get out. She quickly got out of the car, mumbling an apology. He trailed behind her, carrying her bag, as she unlocked the door and turned on the lights.

“He’s not here?” Cat turned to Seb.

“Albert? No he’s away in….Singapore?” Seb looked at her questioningly as he tried to remember what foreign city his employer was visiting. Cat slumped down on a couch and Seb sat in a chair next to her. He could tell something was wrong, but he didn’t know if he should ask, or let her tell him about it.

“Did he say anything else?” Cat asked suddenly. “Like how he knew I was at The Plaza?”

"No, he just said when and where to pick you up. As a rule, I don’t ask questions.”

“Did he know why I was there? Or who I was with?” Cat leaned forward and eyed him curiously.

“I don’t know, I’m sorry…” Seb wanted to ask her what was wrong, but it wasn’t his place. He wanted to hug her and tell her everything would be alright, even though he had no idea what was bothering her. Well, he had a slight idea of what, or who, might be upsetting her.

The more Cat thought about it, the less it made sense. Slowly, tears began rolling down her face, and once she started crying, she knew there was nothing stopping her from telling Seb everything about Heikki. And ten minutes later, she had done just that, although she regretted telling him all the details. Seb had moved to sit on the couch next to her and handed her a box of tissues he found on an end table, and when she leaned on his shoulder, he didn’t hesitated to wrap his arm around her. By the time she finished telling him everything, his hands were angrily balled into fists and he was muttering angry things in German about Heikki.

“And you believe him?” He replied, not hiding the anger in his voice. For a moment, Cat had believed him. She stared blankly back at Seb, not knowing what to say. “He’s tricking you! I knew he was trying to use you for your money, but this? This is just sick.”

“What do you mean?” Cat started to sit up, and she could see the anger and pain in Seb’s face.

“He stole your birth control! Do you not realize what that means? If he wanted to get your attention, he could have taken your phone, or an article of clothing, or anything! It happens to be after the first time you’ve slept together; do you not see what he was trying to do?” He looked Cat in the eye, and watched as she slowly realized what he was saying.

“He was trying to get me pregnant?” Cat started laughing before she could finish her sentence, and Seb looked at her amusedly.

“You never stop surprising me, Miss Catherine,” he said with a smile. “Why, exactly, is that funny?”

“It isn’t really, but,” Cat started. “I don’t know if anyone’s told you this, but my mom kind of did that to my dad.” Seb looked shocked and stammered an apology, so Cat continued. “They ended up falling in love and getting married or at least that’s the story I’ve been told.”

“Honestly, the things people do for money. No offence to your mother, I’m sure she had a good reason, but really, that’s…” Seb trailed off, not sure what else to say. He’d never met her mother, and no one ever talked about her, so he was starting to think this was why.

“It’s kind of obvious why she did it, and I’d ask her about it but she died shortly after I was born,” Cat explained quietly, and interrupted Seb when he started to say something apologetic again. “I never knew her, and my dad’s always been there for me, so I never really missed having a mom. Although, I could really use one now…”

“Miss Catherine, I am really sorry, I didn’t know-” he was cut off by a sharp, but gentle nudge in the arm from Cat.

“Stop calling me that! How would you feel if I called you Sir Sebastian?” Cat giggled, but her eyes were still sad.

“Okay, I get it, I’m sorry,” he smiled. He opened his mouth and was about to say something else, but stopped.

“I know you tried to warn me about him, but I was stupid; I thought I was grown up and I could take care of myself….and he was just so gorgeous and perfect. Too perfect, I should have seen it coming.”

“Cat it’s not your fault. Anyone would have fallen for him, he was very convincing,” he put his hand on hers and tried to seem reassuring. Cat looked like she was either going to cry or laugh; either way, he wanted to be there for her. “We don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to. Perhaps you should call your father, maybe he can help you.”

Cat thought about it for a minute before sending her dad a text, asking how he knew she was at The Plaza. She watched her phone, waiting for a reply.

“He’s probably busy, or asleep; it’s like 2AM where he is,” Seb slowly took her phone out of her hands and placed it on the table. “Why don’t we watch a movie or something, to take your mind off it?”

Cat sighed. She wanted her dad to respond immediately and explain that everything was alright, and he had nothing to do with Heikki’s weird actions. She wanted to believe Heikki, and for things to go back to normal, but the more she thought about it, the more scared she became.

“You’re right; I need to stop thinking about this. Why don’t you pick something to watch and I’ll go make some popcorn?” Cat handed Seb the tv remote before leaving for the kitchen.

As he flipped through the channels trying to find something good, he thought that perhaps under different circumstances, this might be considered romantic, almost like a date. Almost.


	8. Albert's Return

_‘We’ll talk about this when I get home. But if you must know, it wasn’t hard to figure out where you were. You’re not as good at sneaking out as you thought….and it was obvious where you were going. It was Heikki’s last night in New York, and I know where he’s staying, so it really wasn’t hard to figure out where you were. And yes, I was paying for his hotel room, but only because he couldn’t afford to stay somewhere decent, and I know how much you liked having him around. I hope Sebastian brought you to the country house like I asked; I thought you might like that. We’ll discuss this more when I return._

_Love, Dad’_

 

Cat angrily slammed her laptop shut after reading her dad’s email the next morning. It confirmed some of her suspicions, yet left many questions unanswered. How much did her dad really know about Heikki’s intensions? It was starting to seem like she had been a part of some deal Albert had negotiated with Heikki’s mother, the ‘Finnish diplomat’, whatever that meant. ‘If the Finnish government can ignore my illegal trading with Russia, your son can marry my daughter and have access to all of her inheritance, but first he has to trick her into getting pregnant so she’ll be sure to marry him,’ or something like that. Obviously that’s not what happened. But it was probably similar. As far as Cat knew, her father did not trade illegally with Russia, and she had no idea who Heikki’s mother was or what her position in government was. But the rest…?

And then there was the fact that she had fallen asleep on her driver’s shoulder last night while watching a movie, and now she was hiding in her room because she couldn’t face him. With the help of a bottle of wine, she saw everything she had been missing in Seb. He was as real as Heikki was fake, and all the subtle ways he had tried to show his affection now stood out like a neon light. She couldn’t believe how blind she’d been, and now that she knew, she didn’t really know what to do about it.

By noon she was starving, so she quietly walked to the kitchen and looked for something to eat. She heard Seb returning and ran upstairs to put on something other than her pajamas.

“I got us some breakfast,” Seb announced as Cat came downstairs. “There isn’t much food in the house, I thought I’d pick up something to eat so you don’t end up drinking another bottle of wine for dinner.” He laughed quietly, and Cat blushed at the distant memories from the night before.

“After breakfast…or lunch, rather,” Cat said as she glanced at the clock, “I was thinking of heading out to the stables. Do you ride?”

“No, I don’t, sorry.”

“Then I can teach you,” Cat smiled proudly. Over the next week, she and Seb spent hours with the horses, and eventually she taught him how to ride. She was slowly forgetting Heikki, yet she knew that when her dad returned she’d have to face everything again.

“When do you head back to school?” Seb asked as they dismounted their horses. The trail they were riding came out in a clearing near a stream. They tied the horses up and let them graze near the water while they ate lunch.

“Soon, but a little later than usual, about mid-September,” Cat replied. “I’m studying abroad for a semester.”

Seb looked slightly disappointed. “That sounds fun, where are you going?”

“Switzerland.” Cat watched his reaction carefully; he looked a little sad, yet hopeful, like he was being reminded of an old memory. “You’ll come with me, right?”

“Of course! Who would I drive if you weren’t here?” Seb joked, but there was a tone of tragic loneliness in his voice. ‘What else would I do?’ he thought, and tried to conceal his sadness from Cat. ‘Switzerland, that’s where…’ he shook his head and stopped himself from thinking the thoughts that would only make him depressed again.

They rode back to the stables in silence, both deep in thought on completely different subjects. As they left the barn together Seb got a notification on his phone.

“You’re father will be back tonight,” he said after opening it. He felt Cat pause and stiffen for a second before continuing toward the house.

“That’s good. He’s a little earlier than I thought he would be, but that doesn’t make a difference,” she sounded tense, and slightly nervous.

“Do you want me to stay with you while you talk to him?” Seb wanted to be there for her now, since he felt he’d obviously failed her the first time with Heikki. He wanted to stand next to her and confront her father together; he wanted to make everything okay for Cat.

“I…” Cat’s eyes were searching, deep in thought. She wanted nothing more than to have someone with her when she faced her dad, and more than anything she wanted that person to be Seb. “Yes, but, I think that might upset him even more.” She saw the glimmer of hope dash out of his eyes as if she’d turned him down for prom and it made the conflicting feelings in her heart burn even brighter.

“Yeah, you know how Albert can be,” Seb laughed, though it was forced. He shoved his hands in his pockets and made no attempt to move closer. He needed to be alone, to think. “I’m going for a drive later; I thought I might check out some of the winding back roads of Connecticut.” He smiled and Cat laughed and shook her head.

“Okay, just don’t get arrested,” she climbed the stairs and left him in the entryway laughing at the thought that he might get arrested for speeding or reckless driving.

Cat changed out of her riding clothes and sat down with a book while she waited for her dad to return. She kept replaying in her head what she was going to say to him, and tried to brace for whatever his answer was. It could be nothing, and he could be shocked at Heikki’s actions; or he could have been behind the whole plan from the beginning. Albert was smart, and cunning; that is, after all, how he acquired his fortune.

Cat had just finished making dinner when she heard someone come in the front door. Thinking it might be her driver returning, she poked her head around the corner and looked down the hallway toward the dark entryway.

“Hey Seb!” She called, but was met with the scowl her father wore on so many occasions she was starting to think it was just his face. “Oh, hi dad.” She quickly slipped back into the kitchen and waited for him to say something sardonic.

“I see you are on a first name basis with Mr. Vettel now,” he replied as he came into the kitchen. He found to the table set for two and sat down at one of the settings. “Thank you for dinner, Catherine.”

“Actually,” she was about to tell him that that was for Seb, but she changed her mind and sat down across from him. “How was your trip? Singapore, right?”

“No, Australia.” Albert carefully tucked in his napkin. “I’m surprised Sebastian forgot, since last time he was in Australia something life changing happened to him.”

Cat dropped her fork at the forgotten memory of Seb’s crash with Kimi in Australia. The details flooded back to her head like a speeding train wreck, sending fault lines through her calmly crafted disposition, leaving her scrambling to hold onto any shred of confidence.

“So you know about that,” Albert eyed her carefully, his brows drawn pensively. “Is that why you wanted to study abroad in Switzerland so suddenly?”

“What?” Cat tried to laugh, but it came out as a squeak. “I just felt like their environmental programs would be beneficial for my studies in engineering, that’s all.” Cat added quietly, “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course you do. Sometimes I don’t give you enough credit, my dear.” He took another sip of wine. “Now, let’s discuss this…issue with Mr. Huovinen.”

Cat tried to remember the speech she’d prepared, or anything really, that would make her sound convincing. She was trying to breathe, to focus, and not cry.

“I think he tricked me,” she started, and took a deep breath, “and you were behind it.”

Albert raised his eyebrows, but his expression remained the same: uninterested, yet slightly amused. “Really? I set you up with a gorgeous and admiral gentleman, so he could steal all of your, of my, money. You’re right, Cat, that sounds like something I’d do,” he added sarcastically, though it was so similar to his normal tone Cat wasn’t sure.

Anger flamed behind Cat’s eyes and motivated her to continue. “You know what I’m talking about, why don’t you just say it?”

“Say what?” he shrugged mockingly.

Cat slammed her fork back on the table. “You used me! You needed me to fall in love with him because of some sick plan you were trying to work out with his mother.”

“Nobody said you had to fall in love with him,” he added disinterestedly, and then his eyes softened. “You and your mother have the same…passion.” His face twitched for a moment, and it almost looked like he smiled at a lost memory.

“Don’t talk about her,” Cat said coldly. “Just tell me you had nothing to do with Heikki trying to…get me pregnant.” She said the last part quietly and avoided his eye contact, as if she were unworthy, unclean.

Albert thought for a minute before responding. “Yes, his mother is a Finnish diplomat and has some pull in the government, and it would have been beneficial if we’d had a working relationship of some kind. However,” he stopped and licked his lips, his mouth suddenly feeling dry. “If I’d had any idea he was going to try to use you like that, I absolutely would not have paid for him to stay at one of the nicest hotels in New York, or let him get anywhere near you. I have spent the last week looking into his background and you’re not the first person he’s tried to do this to, however this is the furthest it’s ever gone. His mother is manipulative and has pushed him into situations like this many times in order to benefit her personal motives.”

Cat was speechless, and stared at her father for a moment before catching her breath. “So he’s like a con artist or something?”

“He’s more like a puppet, his mother’s the one behind everything,” Albert explained, starting to look tired.

Cat stopped hating Heikki and started to feel bad for him as her emotions swirled like a hurricane. She couldn’t decide who she was mad at or whether or not she even was mad any more. “It was so real…but, he still tried to….”

“He didn’t, did he?” He father leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table, studying her carefully.

“What? No, I mean it was just,” Cat swallowed uncomfortably. Sex was not something she talked about with her father. She added quietly, “It was just once, or twice…” Or three times…

“All it takes is one time, trust me,” he said as he got up from the table. “Dinner was delicious. Tell Mr. Vettel I’m sorry I ate his dinner, and he can come in now.” Cat looked confused. How had he known…and where was Seb…? Suddenly the side door to the kitchen opened and Seb came in, trying to look like he hadn’t been eavesdropping.

“I’m sorry Sir, I didn’t mean to intrude,” Seb started to apologize, but Albert cut him off with a smile.

“It’s okay; you didn’t hear anything she wasn’t going to repeat to you after I left, might as well hear it first hand,” Albert turned back to Cat. “I’m going back to the city now; I trust you’ll take care of….yourself?”

Cat knew what he meant and nodded, worried her voice would betray her emotions. Albert left without another word and eventually Seb sat down next to Cat.

“Driver, can you please take me to the store?” She asked before he could say anything.

“Yes, of course, what do you need?” He asked as he stood up and put his jacket back on.

“You heard him: ‘It only takes one time.’ I need to know.” Cat looked at him seriously and watched his eyes frantically search for an answer.

“Cat, what are you,” he paused as it hit him. “Please tell me that you and Heikki used some kind of protection.”

She shrugged and replied quietly. “I’m on the pill, he said it wasn’t necessary.”

“Do they not teach sex education in American schools?” Seb said incredulously as he fumbled for the keys in his pocket. “Come on,” he wrapped his arm around her and led her toward the door. A million thoughts raced through his mind, most of them having to do with punching Heikki (or his mother) in the face.


	9. Switzerland

Cat slowly awoke and looked out her window. The dark clouds below told her they were still in flight and it was now night time, but not where they were. She stretched and yawned as she stood up, catching Seb’s attention from the back of the plane.

“Hey you’re awake!” He stood up and walked toward the bar. “Want a drink? It’s kind of cool your dad let us take his plane.” He started mixing two drinks without waiting for her response.

Cat snorted and replied sarcastically, “yeah, because everyone’s dad has a plane.” She leaned on the bar near Seb and he pushed her drink toward her. “Thanks. How’d you know I’d want a drink?”                                                                                                           

“Because you _can_ drink,” he lifted his glass as if to toast, so Cat held her glass up. “To not being knocked up by a crazy gold digger!” He smiled, yet there was sadness in his eyes as he clinked glasses with her.

“Yeah, I’m pretty excited about that too, although,” Cat furrowed her brows, her brain still waking up after a restless nap.

“What?” Seb set his drink down and looked at her, concern and worry drawing his face into lines. For a second, he thought Cat looked disappointed.

“Isn’t it too soon to tell? I mean, it was only a week. Now that it’s been three weeks, should I take another pregnancy test? Couldn’t there still be a chance-”

“No, you’re fine,” Seb interrupted her. “You can take another test if you want to, you didn’t even miss taking any of your medicine; you have nothing to worry about.” He tried to smile reassuringly, but the mix of emotions in his eyes kept it from looking sincere. He was still more than angry at Heikki for misleading Cat and treating her like dirt, but now, as they were less than an hour outside of Geneva, he was anxious. He was not ready for this, yet he wanted it more than anything. He needed to see Kimi, to know if he was okay, or even alive. He couldn’t stop himself from replaying that race in his head and all the actions he might have taken to prevent the crash. It was an accident, he told himself. That was his mantra every night as he lay in bed trying to sleep, trying to block the images of the crumpled Ferrari cart-wheeling across the track and into the wall.

The captain announced they would be landing in twenty minutes. Seb broke out into a cold sweat and set his glass down, his hands shaking too much. Cat was already buckled into her seat and staring thoughtfully out the window at the city below, sipping her drink. Seb slid into the seat next to her and tried to calm down as the plane came in for landing.

‘Next week,’ he thought. ‘Maybe tomorrow, I will find him, but for now, I cannot worry about it. It isn’t helping anyone.’

Once they were on the ground and he was driving yet another one of Albert’s many cars, Seb felt more relaxed and was able to distract himself long enough to get Cat home. She went straight to bed, since she started school the next day, and Seb sat awake long into the night searching online for clues of Kimi’s whereabouts.

Cat was busy with her studies most of the week, so he had plenty of time to research. However, the further he looked into it, the less truth he found on Kimi, and the more lies he found about himself. Tired, frustrated, and a little depressed, he was more than willing to oblige to take Cat for a drive when she asked.

“After my first week back at school, I need a break,” Cat smiled, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

“And where are we going?” He asked as they got in the car.

“I don’t know, just somewhere I heard about at school,” Cat continued to talk about her week at university and her new friends. “Turn left here.” She gave random and sudden directions, mostly to keep Seb on his toes, but she also didn’t want him to figure out where they were going.

“Are you sure?” He slowed the car and looked questioningly at the driveway Cat indicated. It looked unused, grass growing between the pavers, the trees lining the driveway untrimmed, and the road sign rusted and falling off.

“Yes, this is it. Just go all the way up and we’ll be there.” Cat felt nervous, but it wasn’t for herself. The car slowly rolled up the driveway and Seb looked around anxiously. He stopped and looked at Cat like she was crazy, before pulling in next to a parked car. Cat glanced at Seb before opening the door, “Come on; let’s have a look around.”

He slowly got out of the car and looked around the yard before his eyes settled on the house. ‘House’ is probably too modest a word for it; it was a beastly structure, a small castle, a mansion with many windows.

And in one of those many windows was a figure, just a slight reflection, and it was gone. Seb felt his breath catch, but he blinked a few times and the figure was gone. He looked over at Cat, smiling so calmly, and wondered what she was up to. She came around the car and took his hand. At first he was shocked; she’d never approached him like that, or made any kind of gesture to touch him or hold his hand. But he let her lead him toward the house and up the few steps that led to the front door. She let go of his hand to ring the bell, and he tucked his hands nervously in his pockets.

The door swung open and a man greeted them formally in French. Cat explained, in French, that they had an appointment, and they were led to a sitting room/parlor. Seb stood in the middle of the room and looked around, trying to make sense of everything. They were alone in a room that looked rarely used, but was  still tastefully decorated. Cat pulled Seb onto the couch next to her.

“Don’t stand there like an idiot,” she giggled.

“What is going on?” He finally asked. He turned to face her, her hand comfortingly on his arm, though he wasn’t sure what he needed comforting for.

“I’ve been doing some research….actually I had some help. Dad’s got a team of lawyers and investigators with connections all over the world, that’s how he found out about Heikki’s past,” Cat added quietly, and continued explaining. “I convinced them they should help me, but keep it a secret from dad, of course. After a few weeks they found what I was looking for, and that’s when I decided I was going to study abroad in Switzerland.” She took a deep breath before continuing and moved her hand down his arm so it was clasped in his hand. “Seb, Sebastian the crab, I know who you are. You are Sebastian Vettel, former Formula One driver and world champion and overall amazing person….and I know why you stopped driving.”

Seb’s heart was beating faster than the RB10 he crashed months ago. “I can explain- I wasn’t trying to keep any of that a secret from you, it’s just-”

“It’s okay,” Cat was smiled reassuringly. “If I were you, I would want to disappear too, and luckily for me, you didn’t go into hiding and cut yourself off from the world. Why you became my chauffeur, I still don’t understand, but I’m not complaining. But I didn’t drag you all the way out here to say that, actually, I have something to show you. It should be here soon.”

She looked around anxiously as the seconds passed. Seb was more nervous than he’d ever been before, and he didn’t know why; it was not knowing that made it worse. Their silence was interrupted by the sound of someone walking with a cane and pausing outside the door, followed by muffled angry muttering. Seb froze as he recognized the voice, and his blood turned to ice in his veins.

“I can get it myself,” the man on the other side said to an unseen attendant, before the door opened completely. Standing in the doorway was a sight Seb never thought he’d see again: Kimi Raikkonen. He was leaning on a cane, but other than that he looked pretty good.

The two former drivers looked each other over before Kimi finally spoke:

“Asshole.”


	10. Curiosity Got the Cat

All Seb could hear was the blood rushing through his veins, his heart pounding like a drum. He tried to comprehend what he was seeing; it was what he wanted to see, and what he’d imagined for months, but now it was really here. Kimi was alive, and he hadn’t changed a bit.

“This season’s been shit without you,” he said as he hobbled across the floor. It was clear he was still getting used to the cane, as if he’d been in a wheelchair for a few months. He sat down on a chair close to Seb and hung his cane from the end table between them.

“I don’t know if that’s true. Mercedes has been doing very well, and Dan’s been great, I wouldn’t say the season’s been too bad,” Seb stammered, shocked that Kimi wanted to talk about F1, but still getting over the fact that Kimi was in fact here, alive, right in front of him.

“That’s only because you aren’t there to beat them. And Dan,” Kimi shook his head. “He’s the number one Red Bull driver now, of course he’s winning.”

This drew a smile out of Seb, and for a second it seemed like old times. “Yes, they certainly picked some good drivers to replace us, though I haven’t heard much from the new Ferrari kid.”

Kimi muttered something in Finnish that Cat didn’t catch, but she assumed it wasn’t nice. “No, they aren’t replacements,” he added, in English.

“You’re right, they’re just holding our places for us, until we can come back again,” Seb stated with shaky confidence, as if he wasn’t sure he’d be able to drive again.

“Well, you might be returning, but I’m…” Kimi gestured toward his leg. “Can’t drive without your legs.”

Silence filled the room and months of repressed sorrow came flooding back to Seb. His breath caught in his throat as he tried to say sorry, but he knew that wasn’t enough. He wanted to beg for Kimi’s forgiveness, but nothing could ever make up for what he’d taken from Kimi.

Cat got up, sensing that her presence was no longer needed. “I’ll let you two talk in private. I’ll just be…outside, or something.” Seb barely noticed her leaving, but he stopped trying to hide his emotions. Slowly, tears rolled down his cheeks; whether or not they were tears of happiness or sadness, even Seb did not know.

Cat strolled through the halls of the building, trying to waste time. She realized, as she climbed the steps to the second floor, that no one had been up there for a while. It wasn’t dusty or anything like that, it just had an ‘unused’ feel to it. Nothing was out of place, and there was nothing that didn’t belong. Except Cat, of course. She didn’t belong in Kimi’s house, or whatever this was. Regardless, she kept snooping. Mostly because she was bored, but she was curious about him. What exactly had he been doing for the past six months, and why had he decided to disappear?

She looked through a few rooms, but didn’t touch anything. Nothing looked personal, or like it even belonged to Kimi, so she didn’t glean much. She was about to head into the next room when she heard voices downstairs. She came to the edge of the balustrade in time to see Seb and Kimi leaving the room she’d left them in, but they didn’t see her, so she hid behind a plant.

“So, you’re a chauffeur now? Why?” Kimi asked with a laugh.

“It’s, umm, complicated.” Seb ran his hands through his hair and turned around. For a second, Cat though he’d seen her, but he kept turning and faced Kimi again. “Her dad got me out of a….hard situation, and at first it was just a distraction, but now…”

Kimi raised an eyebrow, the only indication that he was interested in what Seb was saying. “Now it’s what….? You actually like driving people around?”

“I don’t mind it, Cat is a really great person, she’s-” Kimi interrupted Seb with a smile.

“Oh I see, it’s about the girl now. Is this why you don’t want to get back into racing?”

“I never said that!” Seb blushed, and Cat could see it clearly from her hiding spot at least thirty feet away and behind a plant. “I never said I was giving up racing. I’m just taking a year of two off.”

“Right. But the girl, she’s….special, right?” The Finn asked, almost like an older brother talking to his sibling.

“It’s complicated, she’s been through a lot this summer I don’t want to make it worse,” He paused. “And then of course, there’s…”

“Hanna.” Kimi nodded solemnly and the two exchanged some kind of look that obviously meant something, but Cat was clueless. Hanna? Who’s that? She’d never heard Seb talk about a girlfriend, or even his family. She’d never thought about it, but there was a lot she didn’t know about him.

After a pause, Seb cleared his throat. “It’s getting late, maybe I should get Cat home.” He looked around, and she realized he was looking for her, so she moved away from the plant and pretended she was just coming out of the library and totally not eavesdropping.

“Cat! There you are. I was wondering where you’d scurried off to,” Seb smiled up the stairs at her. “What are you doing up there anyway?”

“Nothing, I was just…looking for the kitchen. It’s a little late, I was hungry, I thought maybe I would find some food, or something,” she explained quickly as she descended the stairs, proud of herself for lying on the spot.

“Maybe we’ll pick up something to eat on the way home,” Seb reached out as if to put his arm around her, but ended up awkwardly resting his hand on her shoulder. He caught Kimi’s eye and removed his hand, shoving it back in his pocket. “Know any good places around here?”

Kimi shrugged. “I don’t get out much, I’ve been kind of busy…” He gave Seb a look before turning his gaze to Cat.

“I don’t think we’ve been introduced yet, but I’m Cat,” she held her hand out and they shook. He nodded, but didn’t say anything. “It’s nice to meet you.” She withdrew her hand and got the feeling Kimi didn’t like her very much. He shifted his gaze back to Seb and nodded politely.

“Nice to see you again, maybe we can meet up again sometime,” Seb said, sounding as emotional as Kimi was not. He looked like he was on the verge of tears again, his hand shaking slightly. Cat had only known Seb to be fun, light hearted, and seemingly optimistic (given his situation), so this came as a surprise. She wanted to comfort him and put her arm around him or something, but she felt weird with Kimi there, and because she didn’t know who this ‘Hanna’ was.

This thought stayed with her as they drove him. Seb said he didn’t want to talk, but he wasn’t mad, so she didn’t try to talk to him. When they got home he wanted to be alone, and so she didn’t bother him. It wasn’t until the next night that she saw him again, and it was obvious he’d been drinking.

Cat was sitting in the kitchen doing her homework when Seb appeared and leaned on the doorway. “I wanted to thank you,” he said quietly. “That was very kind of you.”

“Why don’t you sit down before you fall over,” Cat pushed the chair across the table from her out for him. He sat down and didn’t say anything for a while, so she continued working on her homework.

“Kimi is….he’s Kimi,” Seb laughed, but it sounded hollow and empty of joy. “He’s great once you get to know him.”

“I’m sure he is,” Cat smiled. “You seem to be very close to him.”

“We were definitely very close, best friends even,” he paused and stared thoughtfully at his bottle. “If he had been mad at me it would have been so much better. I’ve been hating myself for months, so if he hated me too it would have seemed right, somehow.”

Cat reached across the table and took his hand. “It must be hard for you being here. I don’t know why, but I thought it would make it better. At least you’d know he wasn’t dead, but I never really thought about what you’d do after. I guess I thought things would go back to normal.”

“Normal,” Seb repeated and laughed that empty, hollow, laugh that was almost tragic. It hurt Cat to see him like this, and she felt guilty about it now. Maybe he was better off not knowing.

“Is that what you want? To go back to the way things were?” She asked. “I can see why you’d want that; you must have had a pretty nice life as a world champion racing driver.” She smiled encouragingly.

“I was certainly very lucky in many aspects, but near the end, many things were starting to fall apart,” he shrugged, as if to say ‘it happens.’

Cat hesitated before asking the next question. She knew it wasn’t really any of her business, but she was curious. “Did you- or, do you, have a girlfriend, or anything?”

His face changed, and he looked tense, maybe angry, but suddenly he laughed. “Yes, at some point in my life I have had a girlfriend. Do you mean recently? I, um, there was someone for a long while, but she and I are over. That was one of the ‘many things’ that was falling apart.”

“Hanna?” Cat asked apprehensively, and Seb nodded without looking up. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories; I just wanted to try to help, somehow.”

“Cat, you have already helped me more than you could imagine. You have kept me from falling into depression again, and every day I have looked forward to driving you, and hearing you laugh, and watching you giggle when I take a corner too fast.” He smiled, his eyes distant as he held her hand in his. “Miss Catherine, you don’t know it, but you have saved my life and given me a reason to live.”

The quiet pause that fell between them was filled with so many questions. Cat’s heart was beating fast, her palms sweating, and her mind raced as she tried to find an appropriate reply. Instead, she leaned across the table and kissed him on the lips.


	11. Recurring Nightmare

Cat awoke to the sound of Seb snoring. Annoyed, she covered her head with her pillow and tried to get back to sleep. She was hung over, and every sound made her want to scream, and the morning sunlight pouring through her window only made it worse. 'I need some coffee,' she thought.

And then it hit her. Seb was snoring loudly because he was in her room, in her bed, right next to her. She sat up too quickly and sent her head spinning; not looking at him, she swung her legs over the side of the bed so her toes touched the cold wood floor. She took a deep breath and tried to recall the events that had led to these circumstances...

There was alcohol, and lots of it. There was that kiss, and then Cat climbing over the table, pushing her engineering homework aside. There was more kissing (a lot more), and Seb mumbling something romantic in German that Cat didn't understand, yet still found shockingly alluring. And then there was...

'Wow,' she laughed to herself. 'I've slept with the chauffeur.' She hopped out of bed and found her robe and slippers, without glancing back at Seb, and made her way out to the kitchen to make some coffee. She ignored the trail of clothes left behind from the night before and headed straight for the medicine cabinet to find something for her pounding headache.

'God, I've really slept with the chauffeur. I'm like Sybil from Downton Abbey!' Cat stopped opening the bottle of aspirin and laughed to herself before she continued getting a glass of water

"What's the quietest way to make coffee?" she said to herself out loud and looked around the kitchen.

"I would suggest the French press, although you still have to grind the coffee first." Cat froze when she heard Seb's voice and slowly turned around.

"French press?" She asked. Cat had only made coffee using a Keurig, so she didn't know how to make coffee, let alone use a coffee grinder.

"Let me do it," Seb smiled tiredly and set about making them some coffee, so Cat sat at the table with her head resting in her hands. She couldn't think straight, and really didn't want to talk about it with Seb, not yet at least. She tried to remember what exactly had happened the night before, but there were blank spots. Seb sat down across from her and slid her a mug of coffee. She didn't look up until most of her coffee was gone and the caffeine was starting to work. The first thing she noticed, once her eyes focused, was how guilty Seb looked. Or perhaps it wasn't guilt, but he was upset about something; it was not the face of a man who'd just gotten laid, that's for sure.

"We don't have to talk, if you don't want," Cat mumbled and avoided eye contact, resting her head back on the table. "You obviously feel guilty about it, or regret it, or something, so..."

"It's not that, it's..." he looked at her, and realized she didn't know. He almost considered not telling her. "Do you not remember saying Heikki's name in the midst of everything? Actually, you kind of screamed it and then fell over and passed out."

It was worse than Cat imagined; she thought he felt bad about sleeping with her, and she might have been okay with that. But yelling another guys name- a creepy ex boyfriend at that- was beyond embarrassing. She started laughing quietly, but Seb thought she was crying, so he put his arm around her.

"It's okay, I don't hold it against you. He was really hot, I'm sure I'd scream his name too if I were into guys," he was trying to make her feel better, but ended up sounding oddly homoerotic. He closed his eyes and tried to think of a way to come back from that, but Cat sat up suddenly.

"You know, it's weird. I hadn't thought about him for three days (which was my new record), until we went to see Kimi. I wondered if he knew him, isn't that crazy? Why would Kimi know Heikki? Just because they're Finnish doesn't mean they know each other." Cat leaned back in her chair and laughed, eventually Seb started laughing too. She realized now nice his eyes looked when he smiled. "At first I thought of calling him, or even texting him, just to see if he was okay. But lately I haven't thought about him."

It was quiet for a moment, and Cat was starting to think Seb resented her for screaming another man's name during sex. Maybe that was a huge insult in his culture? Cat distracted herself thinking about how and why Germans might find that to be incredibly revolting, and she didn't even notice Seb had started laughing.

"Miss Catherine, I swear, you never stop amusing me." He got up from the table and, still laughing to himself, left the kitchen, leaving Cat alone with her coffee. 'Yup, he definitely hates me,' she thought to herself. Reluctantly, she got up and gathered her things for school. She opted to walk to class today, even though it was a bit far and she still wasn't feeling that great.

Sadly, the next week continued like this. Cat avoided Seb at all costs, which meant she had to drive herself sometimes, now that the weather was getting cold. Seb visited Kimi quite often, which Cat thought was just an excuse not to get away her. He always seemed to just be leaving when she was returning from school, and that couldn't be a coincidence. She tried to throw herself into her studies to distract from Seb's absence. While that did lead to her getting good grades, it did not make her forget her feelings for Seb.

And just when she thought things couldn't get worse, she got a letter. It was forwarded to her Switzerland address from New York, originally postmarked Finland. She felt her blood turn to ice in her veins, her heart ceased to beat, as she read her name hand printed on the envelope in handwriting she was too familiar with. Short love letters, notes slipped into her pocket when she wasn't looking, poems attached to bouquets of flowers...yes there was no mistaking Heikki's handwriting. She dropped the rest of the mail on the kitchen counter before continuing to her bedroom with the letter clutched tightly in her hand.

Cat stared at it for several minutes before throwing it across the room. She cried, so angry that she couldn't get rid of him, but crawled over to where it lay on the floor. She slowly tore at the edge of the envelope until it was open, and it felt like she was peeling back layers of bandage over an old wound. There was a single page of Finnish Navy stationary folded crisply in thirds. Reluctantly, she opened it and braced herself for whatever it said.

'Cat,

I have tried to contact you many times over the past few weeks without success; I hope this letter finds you in time. I cannot begin to apologize for my actions, or to explain what led me to treat you so poorly, but please listen. You have every right to be mad at me, to hate me, but please listen to what I have to say.

I meant every word I said to you. I know this does not mean much given my actions, but please know that I truly did, and still do, have feelings for you. I was put in a difficult place by my mother who seemed to think she could arrange a marriage between us in order to access your father's money. And when that wasn't going fast enough for her, she forced me to do something unforgiveable to you. Please understand that I did not want to switch your birth control medicine and I fought her on the subject, even on our last morning together. It was a terrible and unspeakable crime, for which I will accept any consequences.

I cannot explain why I went through with my mother's plan, except that I owe her a considerable debt and she could put me in a very dishonorable position. Given the opportunity to do it again I would have acted differently, but that does not change the past. I know this is a lot to ask, but please get in contact with me soon. I need to know if you are okay, and most importantly, if you are pregnant. I understand if you did not go through with it, but if you have I hope we can come to some kind of agreement. I promise you, this is not another attack on your money, this is just a father wanting to be a part of his child's life.'

Cat's eyes filled with tears again and blurred the last few words of his letter, though she could easily recognize his signature. She leaned against the wall and slowly fell to the floor sobbing. A few minutes later she heard Seb come home. She sat up and wiped off her face and tried to calm down. He called out for her and she replied that she was in her room. She was still sitting on the floor with the letter in her hands when he came in.

"Miss Catherine you have been crying," he kneeled next to her and put his arm around her, instinctively she leaned into him. "What's wrong?"

She burst into tears again and shoved the letter into his hands. Seb read the letter carefully before angrily crumpling it up and throwing it on the floor.

"Cat, what does he mean he switched it?" He looked at her carefully, anger and worry mixed in his eyes.

"I-I don't know, does it say?" She picked up the letter and smoothed it out again. "No, there's nothing. What did he switch it with? It looked the same; I didn't even realize it might be different. He must have been planning this for a long time if he had a replica made. And what the hell is wrong with his mother?" A new round of tears streamed from her eyes and Seb handed her a tissue. He seemed tense, like trying to hold himself together was taking all of his will power.

"Do you have any left? We could get it tested and see what it is."

Cat sat up and crawled over to her nightstand where she kept her medicine. "There's one left. You don't think he was poisoning me, do you?"

Seb shook his head. "No, I don't."

"Then what is this?" she examined the remaining pill in its clear packaging.

"I'm not really an expert in this subject, but it's possible it was some kind of placebo, a completely ineffective pill. Or, if he's as sadistic and manipulative as I think he is, it might have even been something to help you get pregnant, some kind of fertility supplement." Seb's mouth twisted in disgust and he muttered something in German Cat didn't quite catch.

"But it wasn't him, it was his mother!" She protested, and it startled Seb.

"What could she possibly have on him to make him go through with this wicked plan? She's his mother, she's not supposed to force him into situations like this. No, if he actually loved you like he said he did, he would not have committed this heinous crime"

Cat was quiet for a moment as she though over Seb's words. "He never said he loved me," she added quietly.

"We need to get you to a doctor. I should have done this when you first told me about it weeks ago," he sighed and stood up, pulling her up after him. "I'm sorry Cat, I have failed you."

"It's okay, it's not your fault," she followed him to the car and they drove silently to the doctor's. He sat in the waiting room for her and tried to distract himself as the minutes ticked by. When she finally appeared she did not look any happier than he felt.

"We just have to wait for the results of the blood test," she said as she rolled down the sleeve of her shirt over her bandage. She sat down next to him and stared blankly at the painting on the wall, the kind you only see in waiting rooms, and tried not to worry too much. Worrying won't help, and it won't change the results.

"Then we'll wait together," Seb put his hand on hers, and the two waited for the results of her blood test, each trying to block out the thoughts that swarmed their minds like angry bees. Whatever the result, if he was next to her, Cat knew she could handle it.


	12. The Sauna

Waiting is the worst when you're with someone who is also waiting. The minutes ticked by as they sat in the waiting room, waiting. Cat had always thought a waiting room meant you were waiting for a doctor, but now it had a new meaning. She, and Seb, were waiting for results; results that could change their lives. She needed to know if she'd been knocked up by her crazy Finnish ex, although she was starting to wonder if he was really that crazy. She had her phone out and ready to send him a text as soon the doctor called her name.

Cat had offered to pay extra to get her results faster, but the lab refused her 'donation.' Eventually, she found her hand in Seb's; somehow it made her calm down a little. She tried to be prepared for any outcome, yet she really couldn't wrap her head around being pregnant. Even after Heikki's apologetic letter, she was terrified. She tried to imagine getting up in the middle of the night to attend to a crying baby, or having to tell her dad....

Seb nudged her. "They called your name," he said tensely. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Cat hesitated; as much as she didn't want to hear this alone, she couldn't drag Seb into this. This was her problem, and she was going to face it. She stood up and flattened out her skirt. "No thanks, I'll go alone." She took one last look at him before walking back to the examination room with the doctor.

She took a seat on the cold examination table and waited for the doctor to tell her her fate.

"We've gotten your blood work back, and your results were negative." The doctor explained, unsmiling, or any other emotion.

"Negative, as in, not pregnant?" Cat asked, to clarify.

"Yes." She replied, matter-of-factly. "As for the pill you wanted tested: it was not birth control as you thought; it was actually the exact opposite. I am surprised you didn't get pregnant, if you were as sexually active as you say you were."

"It was just once with...that other guy, and a few times in the beginning with my ex. There wasn't much action in between, so I really couldn't have gotten pregnant, could I?" Cat knew pregnancy was most likely to happen in the middle of a cycle, and she was at the end of her cycle now, so...

The doctor shook her head. "Once you stopped taking your normal birth control pills, your ovulation cycle changed. You could have been at risk any time during the last month."

This hit Cat harder than she expected. She had never thought about the fact that Seb could have gotten her pregnant, and her heart raced as she remembered that in their rush they had forgotten to use a condom. Or, perhaps it was because Cat didn't have any. Maybe she should buy some condoms?

Her doctor gave her a new prescription for birth control and recommended Cat get the morning after pill too, just in case. Still shocked at her sudden realization, she slowly walked back to the waiting room. Seb was anxious as ever, his foot taping against the leg of his chair. He stood up when he saw her, his face pulled in lines of worry and curiosity.

Cat smiled and shook her head, and relief washed over his face. He closed the short distance between them and pulled her into a hug. "I was really worried, Miss Catherine, that I was going to have to do some explaining to your dad."

"That wouldn't go well for either of us. 'Um, dad, the chauffeur knocked me up...' I'm pretty sure I would just run away and hide, rather than deal with his wrath," she let him wrap his arm around her lower back as they strolled out to find the car. It seemed like hours ago that they frantically pulled in to the crowded parking lot. Once in the quiet of the car, Seb cleared his throat and began muttering awkwardly, possibly not in English.

"I'm sorry, what I'm trying to say is at least nothing bad happened, right?" He explained, and started to drive to the pharmacy to pick up Cat's prescription. "Heikki didn't knock you up, and you don't have any lasting effects from whatever he gave you, so you were pretty lucky."

"You said nothing bad happened....does that mean you don't think it would have been bad if I had gotten pregnant, but not with Heikki?"

"I, uh," he laughed nervously. "I mean it wouldn't be as bad, since I'm not crazy and I wasn't trying to impregnate you against your will, like he was. That was not my intention when I slept with you last week."

That was the first time either of them had directly acknowledged the fact that anything had happened between the two of them since the morning after when he told her she'd yelled Heikki's name. Talking about it wasn't as awkward as either of them thought it would be, and maybe that was a good sign.

"Maybe we should go out tonight and celebrate," Seb suggested.

"I don't know if I want to go out; I don't really feel like getting dressed up or anything," Cat slumped back in her seat. "Although I wouldn't mind getting drunk."

"You know what we should do? We should visit Kimi again" Seb suggested. "I was supposed to visit him today anyway, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you came along. Actually," Seb added. "He asked about you the last time."

"Really? I got the feeling he didn't like me very much."

"No, he's just like that. I'm sure he'd like you if he knew you. So, what do you say?"

"Yeah, let's visit him," Cat shrugged. What could really go wrong?

When they got to his house a few hours later, Kimi opened the door wearing nothing but a towel. Cat thought maybe he had just gotten out of the shower.

"I'm just getting into the sauna, want to come?" He asked as Seb and Cat came inside out of the cold. Cat had never been in a sauna, but she was always open to trying new things.

"Sure, why not?" She looked over at Seb, and he hesitated before agreeing. Kimi led them through the house toward the back, an area Cat hadn't explored when they first visited. He was limping a little, but he wasn't using a cane any more.

"It's still heating up, and I know Seb doesn't like it too hot, so I'll leave it around 80," Kimi said as they reached the sauna. He pointed to a room to the side and said they could change and shower there. Kimi disappeared and left Cat and Seb alone.

"So, you've done this before?" She asked him and looked around the room. She wasn't sure where she was supposed to change, since it was all one room. It was a nice, stone, shower room with a couple of shower heads on one wall.

"Yes, Kimi and I have been friends for quite a while, so we've been to sauna together a couple of times."

"80 doesn't seem that hot..."

"Celsius, my dear American." Seb grinned and slowly began unbuttoning his shirt.

Cat's eyes shot open. 80 degrees Celsius was flipping hot. As an engineering student, especially someone who had been studying in Europe for a few weeks, she should have realized he meant Celsius and not Fahrenheit. "Since you've done this before, maybe you can explain exactly what we're supposed to be doing?"

Seb laughed as he tugged the rest of his shirt off. "Get naked and shower, and grab a towel."

Cat looked around the room awkwardly. She was not used to showering in front of people, and Seb caught on to her dilemma.

"It's okay; I've already seen you naked, I don't care; and I know Kimi doesn't care. It's okay to be naked in a sauna; it's not sexual or anything. Honestly, it's too hot to care about that." Seb laughed again and continued taking his clothes off. He had removed his shirt and pants, while Cat barely removed her socks. "Come on, it's fine. Do you need some help?"

She shook her head. She didn't want him helping her take her clothes off, again. But that's not what he meant. "Kimi must have some alcohol around here somewhere..." he said as he looked through the shelves. He picked up a bottle and inspected it. "That'll work." He poured her a glass and handed it to her before pouring some for himself.

Cat took a sip, not sure of what she was drinking, and it burned her throat. Yup, that was vodka. She coughed and Seb smiled apologetically.

"Is that too strong?"

"No, it's fine," she coughed again and took another sip.

"I really don't care if your underwear doesn't match; I know some girls are very particular about that," Seb shrugged, and drew a smile out of Cat.

"It's not that, although I'm pretty sure they match," she pulled her shirt away to check what color bra she was wearing, and suddenly laughed. "Why don't I just take it off?" She set her almost empty glass down and pulled her shirt off before standing up to take her skirt off. "I bet they do match. Now that you've said that, I have to know. Damn it Seb! I bet you did this on purpose."

"I might have." He smiled and looked away while she slipped out of her skirt. "See, they do match!" He glanced to his left and realized Kimi was standing in the doorway watching them.

"My underwear matches!" Cat smiled when she saw him. He shook his head, as if to say 'what the hell is going on in here,' but he didn't say anything.

"Uh, the sauna's ready." He gestured across the hall and looked at Seb.

"We'll be right in. We just have to shower." Kimi left, and Seb and Cat finally took off the rest of their clothes. They hopped into the showers, which were right next to each other causing them to accidentally bump into each other a few times. They each grabbed a towel and got wrapped up before heading across the hall. Kimi was sitting nearest the stove with a beer in his hand.

"I forgot to tell you, there's beer outside if you want," Kimi said as they came in. Cat and Seb both grabbed a beer and set down near Kimi, but not too close. There was enough space for them to sit a few feet apart. The heat hit Cat like nothing she'd felt before. She clutched her cold beer and tried to absorb its coldness.

Cat closed her eyes and let the heat settle in like a drug. She hadn't been cold, but being warmed up was comforting. Slowly it erased her problems and left an odd calming sensation she'd never experienced before.

"It's hot." She stood up suddenly and wobbled a little. "It's hot." She repeated and took off her towel. She set it on the bench and sat on it, like Kimi had done, and finally decided to drink some of her beer. It wasn't really cold any more, but she didn't care. Seb and Kimi were talking about something, but she wasn't listening. Cat had her eyes closed and was thinking about as little as possible. Slowly, random thoughts and images floated through her head until a coherent sentence came to her. She slid closer to Seb and put her hand on the bench between them.

"Is it okay if we hold hands?" she said quietly. Startled, Seb stopped talking and hesitated before putting his hand in hers.

"Of course, Cat."

"You didn't call me Miss Catherine," she smiled.

"No, we don't use titles in a sauna. Just like Kimi wouldn't call me four time world champion, and I wouldn't call him one time world champion," Seb teased Kimi, but he didn't reply.

"At least I had a valid reason for not driving this year," Kimi finally said, and Cat felt Seb get tense.

"There were many reasons I couldn't continue racing this year, you know that," Seb replied quickly, and the subject was dropped.

"Are you ever going to race again?" Cat asked after a while. "I think that would be hot."

Kimi snickered and Seb cleared his throat before replying. "Maybe it's time for you to get out. Why don't we go take a shower." He led her out of the sauna and she carried her towel trailing behind her, no longer caring about being naked.

Cat tried to turn on the shower faucet, but failed, so Seb helped her. She found the soap and rubbed it over her arms before turning to Seb and, without asking, she started washing him. She started with his shoulders, and moved lower to his chest, and then his stomach, and lower and lower....until she was kneeling in front of him. She hadn't thought about this, and she hadn't planned it, it just felt natural; she took him in her mouth and sucked until she heard him moan. One thing led to another, and a few minutes later he was pushing her into the shower wall from behind, hitting all the right spots, until she was screaming his name.


	13. Spa: More Relaxing Than You Think

Cat looked over the car with increasing apprehension. It looked too small, too open and unprotected.

"And you drive how fast in this?" She asked Seb incredulously and he smirked.

"About 300 km/h, or more," Seb snickered at Cat's shocked reaction.

"How do you all not die?" Cat asked, and then realized the poor wording of her question.

"Sometimes there are accidents, as you know, but no one has died for many years," he explained with sadness in his eyes. He had reluctantly told her the details of the crash after they'd woken up in one of Kimi's many unused bedrooms. It had been a long night, from the sauna, to the shower, to the bedroom, and they didn't get up until nearly lunchtime.

But that was nearly two weeks ago. Now they were at the racetrack, and Seb was about to suit up for the first time since the Australian GP. He was nervous, but he had gotten his spark back, or maybe it was a new spark. He and Cat had somehow become an item, though exactly what that was had yet to be defined.

Cat gave him a quick kiss before he put his helmet on. She retreated to the paddock and slipped on a pair of headphones to watch Seb drive around the track.

"Miss Catherine?" She heard his voice through the headphones and jumped.

"Yes?" She replied and adjusted the mouthpiece. "Are you driving yet?"

Seb laughed. "No, I am still 20 feet away from you. I just wanted to say thank you. For talking to your father and arranging this. I never would have been able to get a car to drive, here at Francorchamps, on such short notice. Who exactly does your father know?"

Cat laughed, "I'm not sure, but don't worry about it, just drive. And be safe!"

"As you wish." She heard the unmistakable sound of an engine starting, a sound she would soon get very used to, and Seb was off down pit lane. He wasn't driving the RB10 he had just started getting used to before his season was cut short, but he was in an F1 car, and that was good enough. It was like taking a hit off an old drug; soothing, yet the memory of being cut off sent shivers through every nerve. As he sped through the chicane at the bottom of Eau Rouge, the calming effect of racing he loved so much returned and cleared away any remaining anxiety.

This was not what Cat had pictured when her dad said he'd gotten them a day at Spa. She was expecting facials and massages, but this seemed to be just as therapeutic for Seb.

When he finally came off the track and slid out of his racing overalls, he was a different person. He was almost the old Seb, someone Cat had only seen glimpses of.

"I see you enjoyed yourself," she said and helped him fix his hair after he took his helmet off.

"Enjoyed myself? That might be an understatement," he gave her a passionate kiss, which surprised Cat, but she did not object. "That was the most fun I have had in months! Not that driving you has been boring..."

"I"m glad you had fun. Unfortunately, we need to go soon," she put her arm around him and ignored his pout as she led him back to change.

"You know," she said slowly after the door clicked shut behind them. "I didn't want to say this over the headphones because I didn't know who else was listening, but that was pretty hot."

Seb stopped untying his shoe and looked up at her. "Really?"

"I dont know what it was, but there is something so alluring about seeing you do what you do best. Now I see why you're a four time world champion." She leaned in to give him a kiss, and he pulled her down on the bed next to him, quickly kicking his shoes the rest of the way off.

"It's been a while since I've had a girl right after a race, but this is close enough," Seb paused his passionate endeavor long enough to say, before diving back into his mission to ravish Cat.

With his heart set on returning to F1, and Cat supporting him, Seb set about trying to resign with his old team. He set up a meeting with Red Bull to talk about the upcoming season. He made sure to dress nicely, although he didn't feel like he should need to impress his former employers. Why wouldn't they want him back? He'd brought them four world championships, and possibly many more in the future.

What he was not expecting, was rejection. Yes, he had brought them four world championships and four constructors championship titles, but he had left them with a lot of unanswered questions, and many legal issues. They had spent months explaining his absence, and gave up on trying to talk to him. He disappeared for a while, and refused to return their calls once he started working for Albert. Devastated, he returned to Switzerland the next day.

"I'll never race again," he said to Cat when she came home from school. She found him sitting in the living room with a glass of scotch. He had paused the tv when he heard her come home. She glanced at the screen to see what he was watching: an old race from 2012.

"Sebastian the crab does not give up," she flicked off the tv and sat down next to him.

"What? I don't recall that being a part of the plot of 'The Little Mermaid,' unless I missed something," he laughed, and she took the bottle of scotch out of his hand and put the cover back on.

"Okay, so maybe I made that up. And thanks for drinking my father's scotch." She replaced the bottle on the shelf with the other barely used bottles. "There are other teams you can drive for, I'm sure they would be more than happy to have you race for them."

"No, if my own team doesn't want me-"

"They're not your team any more. You can sign with another team, and show Red Bull what they're missing." Cat tried to sound optimistic. "I heard Ferrari is looking for a change, and you look good in red."

"Thank you," he looked at her questioningly. "And where did you hear that?"

"I, um," Cat blushed. "I may have started looking into it after I saw how happy you were after you drove at Spa. I just want you to be happy."

Seb was touched, and not just because she was looking into his F1 career, but she cared about him. Their relationship had been seemingly physical up until now, and he wanted to tell her his feelings, but he didn't know how.

He put his hand on hers and smiled, "With you by my side, I can get through this."

"We can get through this," she corrected him, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Miss Catherine, have you always had a secret wish to be an F1 WAG?" Seb asked jokingly..

"A what?"

"WAG? It means 'wives and girlfriends'..." His eyes flicked across her face to see her reaction.

She looked confused at first, until she figured out what he was saying. She smiled, "No, but now I do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I heard it's Heikki Huovinen's birthday today! I adore him, and feel bad for depicting him negatively, but he has that 'gorgeous bad-guy' look!


	14. Connections

"You shouldn't have to prove yourself; you're four time world champion Sebastian Vettel, that should be enough." Cat stood behind him at the desk and rubbed his shoulders.

"Unfortunately, that doesn't mean anything any more; my reputation has been tainted. I can't buy my way onto a team because I don't have money anymore. I need to find sponsors, but nobody wants me to be the face of their product." He sighed and hung his head, closing the laptop on the many rejection emails he had received about sponsorship.

"They just don't know how awesome you are now. New and improved, Vettel 2.0," Cat smirked, and drew a slight smile out of Seb.

"Improved? I'm not sure about that..."

"Hey, if they don't want to sponsor, you, I will."

He raised an eyebrow and waited for her to say 'just kidding' or to burst out laughing, but she was serious. "Cat..."

"Seb, are you forgetting why Heikki tried to knock me up this summer? Because I'm filthy rich," she smiled.

"Cat.... I couldn't ask you to waste all your money on me. You may not even get half of it back, no matter how well I do," he looked at her skeptically, though he couldn't hide that spark of hope from his eyes.

She looked at him seriously, and very business like, said "If I lost half of my money, I would still be a multimillionaire.....and then there's daddy, of course. He could practically own an F1 team, probably."

Seb chuckled at they way Cat sarcastically talked about her dad and his money. "Yeah, but he wouldn't give me a penny if he knew....wait, he doesn't know we're dating, right?"

Cat shook her head. "Are you serious? I can't tell him; he'd probably think I was being stupid or rebellious."

"Rebellious?" Seb laughed again, this time pulling her into his arms. "So you think I have a 'bad boy' image?" He joked and tried to put on his best 'tough guy' face, sending Cat into peels of laughter.

"No, sorry," she sat up and caught her breath. "I don't know, I just think he wouldn't like it. Although he seems to like you enough, I just think he wouldn't be happy if we dated."

"You mean, if he knew we were dating," Seb corrected, and eyed her.

"Right, that's what I meant." Cat kissed him on the cheek and stood up, pulling him with her. "Why don't we take a break from this for a while and watch a movie or something. You've been so tense lately."

Seb was tense, and it wasn't just because he couldn't sponsors to back him next season. Technically, that was part of it. They day he'd spent at Spa was quite eye-opening. Not only did it reignite his love for racing and motivate him to drive next season, he realized he'd changed. He was more careful, less fast into the corners and slower; he was rusty, and rusty is not good. The car he drove was a not the Red Bull cars he had been used to, but even with that factored into his times, he was still too slow. He needed to practice, but he couldn't do that until he signed with a team. Even using the simulator would help him a lot, but where could he get his hands on one of those?

Vettel needed to sign with a team.

Red Bull: Absolutely out of the question. Even if they wanted him, he would be too embarrassed to go back.

Mercedes: also nope.

McLaren: Changing up drivers, might be able to sneak into one of the vacant spots.

Ferrari: Not pleased the the 'Kimi replacement' driver, and Alonso is out. Many openings and changes means they might be willing to take a chance with Seb.

And the list continues; Seb prioritized which teams would be the best to drive for, which ones he had a chance of signing with, and started weighing the pros and cons. By the end of the week, he was starting to think it would be easier just to make his own team with Albert's money. But the likeliness of that actually happening was so slim, he didn't let himself get distracted by such prospects.

"Guess what?!" Cat glimmered with happiness as she hopped into the car after class.

"You got an 'A' on that essay you've been working on for the past few weeks?" Seb guessed, and Cat shook her head.

"No, but that would be awesome if I did. I got you a meeting!!" Cat smiled, proud of her achievement.

"With...?"

"Ferrari. I go to school with a lot of important/influential people's kids, grandchildren, and you know that annoying girl I've been hanging out with lately? Her dad works closely with the Ferrari F1 team, and I casually mentioned that you were looking for a team to drive for next year. You should have seen his face," Cat smiled. "I thought he was going to have a heart attack."

"Really? This is excellent, Cat. When?"

"This weekend."

This weekend? That was only a few days away; Seb was not ready for that. But the season had ended, and teams were finalizing their drivers for the 2015 season, so he had to act quickly. He had to get into shape and practice, a lot, if he wanted to drive next season.

Cat tagged along to the meeting for moral support, and since she had arranged the meeting. After some initial introductions, Seb and the Ferrari officials left to discuss things in an office, leaving Cat near the reception/waiting area. She'd brought her notes and a textbook so she could study for exams, since the meeting might take a while.

Twenty minutes in, and well into chapter two of her environmental engineering book, a young guy came in and said something to the receptionist before sitting down in the seating area across from Cat. She barely noticed him, but gave a polite nod. A few minutes later, Cat failed at balancing her notebook and textbook on her lap and dropped them.

She reached to pick them up and ended up crossing hands with the guy across from her as he reached for them too.

"Sorry," she smiled and withdrew her hands. Cat really hadn't noticed him, but he was about her age, blond, and probably European.

"That's okay," he smiled politely. "This is a heavy book, what are you reading?" He looked at the cover with a confused expression. "Environmental engineering?" He guessed.

"Yeah, I'm about to take finals," Cat said as he handed her books back.

"Wow, that's impressive. That can't be an easy subject to study."

"No, it's pretty hard, but I like a challenge," Cat smiled back at him.

"So you're here for the consulting position?"

"An environmental engineer consulting position?" Cat raised her eyebrows. Why hadn't her friend mentioned that to her? Not that she was qualified, she didn't even have a degree, yet.

"Yeah. I assumed that was why you were here...." He said quietly, slightly embarrassed.

"I'm just waiting for a friend, actually."

He looked surprised, like he was going to say something, when someone came out of the office and called his name quietly, quiet enough that Cat didn't catch it.

He smiled politely before disappearing into an office, leaving Cat alone again. She went back to her studies and didn't think much of the occurrence, except that maybe he was a little cute.

She'd lost track of time when Seb emerged from an office with a few other guys, a smile on his face. He shook hands with them and nodded before returning to Cat.

"I can't believe this, but I think they're actually going to sign me," he looked surprised, genuinely bewildered. Cat stood up and gathered her books before following Seb out to the car. "Cat," he laughed, "We did it. I think we actually did it."

"We did it? No, this is all you; you are an amazing driver, no matter what happened this season. I barely had a part in this, dear," Cat kissed him on the cheek before slipping into the car.

"No, darling, I owe this entirely to you," Seb grinned. "And we're going out tonight to celebrate."


	15. Competition

"Are you sure I'm not overdressed?" Cat turned in front of the mirror and eye'd Seb's outfit. "You're wearing like, a shirt, and pants. I feel like I'm going to a business meeting or something."

"In a way, you are. You are a sponsor, my sponsor," he corrected and looked slightly embarrassed. "So, it is technically business. I am wearing my Ferrari issued shirt that all Ferrari drivers wear. Except this one has my name on it," he smiled proudly and pointed to the stitched lettering on his collar, next to the little red crab.

"That's so cute," Cat ran her finger over the monogrammed image, and trailed her hand down his shirt over the names of sponsors until she came to her logo. "Oh wait, what's this?" She asked with mock surprise and chuckled. "Daddy will be so proud of me once he finds out I've made a business investment."

Seb smiled and cocked his head questioningly, the way he did when he was amused at some irony or sarcasm in Cat's voice. "I love the way you almost get a bit of a fake British accent when you call him 'daddy.' It's like you're mocking him or something."

"I am mocking him," Cat gave him her best 'really?' face before switching to a more 'matter of fact' tone. "And I am British, if you're forgetting. I have dual citizenship."

Instead of responding with something witty, Seb held out his hand and smiled. "Come on, we're going to be late."

By now, Cat was used to being driven by Seb, but tonight he wasn't her chauffeur, he was her date. Or maybe she was his date. Either way, it didn't feel like a date. It was a party, or a very casual meeting, for the Ferrari team and sponsors to kick off the 2015 season. Seb had been to this kind of thing before with Red Bull, so he knew what to expect. Cat put her hand on his arm as they were pulling into the building.

"Don't leave me, okay? I'm kind of scared," she said quietly. He shot her a concerned look and smiled.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," he said as he parked. "But it might be better if we don't spend too much time together. I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea."

"Right," Cat agreed with a nervous laugh. 'The wrong idea?' She thought as he helped her out of the car (Seb's new Ferrari). 'Do they not know we're dating?' Seb obviously knew what he was doing, so Cat smiled and went with it. As they got closer to the building he pulled away, loosening his arm from her tight grasp, and kept a respectable distance between themselves, as if they were work associates and not at all romantically involved.

"Just talk to some of the engineers, or some other sponsors. It'll be fine," Seb smiled at her one last time before they walked into the party.

"Sebastian! There you are! Man of the hour," someone stepped between them and put his arm around Seb. "I've been looking for you."

"Marco, it's so good to see you again!" Seb smiled.

"Come on, I have to introduce you to your technical team," they continued talking as they walked away, leaving Cat alone near the door. She wondered if she could just leave now without anyone noticing.

Someone handed her a glass of wine, which she accepted graciously and began sipping it nervously. She scanned the room for someone to talk to and tried to find a quiet corner to hide in. She'd lost track of Seb, so she settled for trying to find anyone who looked somewhat familiar. There must be someone here that she'd met with when she signed on to be a sponsor....

"Hey," a voice to her left said quietly. She looked up to see who it was, or if he was even talking to her. It was the guy she'd seen last week at Seb's meeting.

"Hi," she smiled back. "I was looking for anyone I might know..."

"And then I appeared," he smiled. "Want to sit down?" He gestured to a pair of soft looking chairs with the Ferrari logo stitched to the seat, nestled in the corner near them.

"I'd love to, these shoes are not as comfortable as I thought they would be," Cat pointed to her red high heels and grimaced. With a kinky smile, Seb had talked her into wearing them. If she'd known she wasn't going to be around him that much tonight, Cat probably would have chosen a more practical pair of shoes. Regardless, she sat down and placed her empty wine glass on the table between the chairs.

"I hate these kinds of things. I'm not good at small talk." He set down his glass of scotch. "And I'm new to the team, so I don't really know anyone yet."

"Me too. The one person I know has run off to talk to some engineers or something," Cat sighed and scanned the crowd for any signs of Seb, but from her vantage point she couldn't see anything.There was a pause, and it became obvious that neither of them really was any good at small talk.

"So, if you're not the environmental engineer consultant, what are you?"

"I'm a sponsor," she smiled, still proud of her investment.

"A private sponsor?" He raised his eyebrows, as if impressed.

"I guess. I technically have a 'company' or a 'corporation' or whatever," she glanced over at him and scanned his shirt until she found her name. Leaning closer, she ran her index finger over it, in the same spot it had been on Seb's shirt: mid-way down on the front left. He jumped at her touch, but he looked down to read the logo she was pointing out.

"A.C.E.?" He read the letters on his shirt and Cat withdrew her hand.

"I'm the 'C,' it stands for Cat, or Catherine, and the 'A' is my dad." Cat looked over the letters again, tracing them with her eyes.

"And the 'E'?" He asked after a pause.

"That was my mom," she replied, and shrugged when he gave her a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry," he replied quietly.

"It's fine," Cat interrupted him, before he felt any worse. "I was very young and I didn't know her. But her name is still on our logo as a kind of memorial to her, even though she was never really a part of the company. Not that I am," Cat laughed. "I have zero business sense; this is my first real investment on my own."

"Really?" He looked amused. "Why did you pick an F1 team?"

Cat smiled and shrugged; recalling Seb's warning that they shouldn't 'spend too much time together' so people didn't 'get the wrong idea,' (Cat still didn't know what he meant by that). "I don't know....I just kind of picked something close to my area of study, but something I didn't know much about."

"That's cool," he nodded.

"I've never even seen a race," Cat leaned over and said quietly to him, slightly embarrassed, but she laughed at the absurdity and irony of the situation.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise and chuckled. "That is....interesting. So you randomly chose to become a sponsor for a team you don't seem to have connections to, in a sport you've never even watched? You are quite fascinating, Cat." He eyed her, and he looked like he was going to ask more on the subject, so Cat tried to find a new topic. She scanned his shirt once again, hoping to find a new conversation among one of the other sponsor's logos, when something occurred to her. 'He's wearing the same shirt as Seb, the shirt Seb said all the drivers wore....' Her eyes flicked up to the collar and found his name neatly monogrammed.

"So you're Kevin," Cat said with sudden realization. She thought she remembered Seb talking about a Kevin at some point. It didn't sound like he liked him too much.

"I am Kevin," he laughed, and he might have been blushing. It's hard to tell in the lighting, paired with the red shirt and his pale skin, but he seemed modest enough that he would blush at such a comment.

"Are you excited to drive with Vettel this season?" Cat asked, fully expecting him to enthusiastically say how much he was looking forward to driving with the four time world champion, or something like that.

But he just shrugged, "It should be a good challenge."

Cat was shocked. Perhaps because Seb had been her only window into F1 and car racing, she assumed he was the best and anyone would want to drive with him. She had yet to learn about the interesting and complex relationship between teammates, very unlike teammates in other sports she was more familiar with.

"Well, I'm very excited to see how this season plays out for him." Cat couldn't think of a better response. "And you," she added, not wanting to show favoritism.

"Want me to tell you about F1? Just the basics, so you at least know what you're getting into," Kevin asked after a pause.

"Sure," Cat laughed. "Maybe if we keep talking, I won't have to talk to some engineer, or another sponsor."

Kevin dove into a thorough, but interesting description of how races work, the scoring system, what happened behind the scenes.... He even explained how he got into racing (his dad), which Cat thought was very cute. When the party slowly started ending, Kevin was dragged away to talk to some engineers, saying he 'looked forward to seeing Cat later.' Cat smiled; Kevin was nice, and it would certainly help to know more than just Seb on the team.

When Seb found her fifteen minutes later she was still smiling, however, he was not. They quietly left together and walked back to the car in silence. On their way home, Seb drove a little more aggressively than Cat would have liked, but she didn't complain.

"So, I see you met Kevin," he commented. "Do I have some competition?"

"Yeah, he seems like a good driver, and he knows what he's talking about," Cat smiled recalling their conversation. Why hadn't Seb told her about F1 and racing like that? He always seemed like he wanted to protect her from it; perhaps he was worried she would hear some nasty rumors about him, but Kevin didn't even mention Seb, Kimi, or the crash.

"That's not what I meant," Seb replied with more bitterness than he had intended. Cat was struck by his tone, and speechless for a moment, before her confusion was replaced with anger.

"What exactly do you want? First you say that we shouldn't spend too much time together, then you get mad at me for talking to the one person who was kind enough to even notice I was there? We talked about F1, and cars, and racing...things you've failed to teach me about. Do you know how stupid I feel becoming a sponsor for a sport I've never seen?" This was the first time Cat had ever lashed out at Seb, and it hurt. She wasn't sure why, but there were tears forming in her eyes. She wiped them away before he noticed, and stared straight ahead the rest of the ride home.


	16. Be My Sebby

"I'm almost done with my study abroad program." Cat stated at breakfast. Seb nodded, not entirely awake. "So....I'll be going back to New York to complete my senior year."

"Oh," he almost dropped his spoon back into his bowl of oatmeal. "I didn't realize it was already the end of the semester. That was so fast...."

"I know," Cat laughed. "Now I have to take finals," she pouted and Seb smiled a little at her cute little frown.

"So, you're leaving me here?" He asked with puppydog eyes.

"I think you probably have to stay here. I'm not sure Ferrari would relocate to America just so I could finish up my classes."

"But-"

"Next semester doesn't start for another month or so, we'll figure it out. We have a meeting today. I might be a little late if class doesn't end on time."

"Okay, I'll try to save you a seat." He smiled at her, although he didn't feel like smiling. She kissed him goodbye before rushing out the door with her books.

The idea of being alone here without her sent chills down his spine. Seb didn't really want to be alone any more, especially not for several months while she finished up school. 

Cat rushed into the Ferrari boardroom that afternoon. She could tell she was a few minutes late because most of the seats were taken. Quickly scanning the long table, she found two open seats together and made her way toward them, hoping Seb would sit next to her. However, when she sat down she saw him at the other end of the table, so she gave him an apologetic smile as the meeting was brought to a start.

One last person snuck into the room as the meeting was beginning and slipped into the open seat next to Cat.

"Hey," he whispered to Cat with a smile.

"Hi Kevin," Cat found herself smiling more than she ought to, and felt guilty about it knowing that Seb was at the other end of the table, probably scowling.

They didn't say anything else to each other the rest of the meeting, instead focussing on the presentation. Cat avoided Seb's stare, instead discreetly looking over her notes from class, trying to study for her upcoming exams.

"Why did you sit next to Kevin at the meeting today? There was a seat open next to me," Seb inquired when Cat returned from class. He was in the kitchen making dinner, so Cat sat at the counter and started reading through her notes from class and studying for her finals.

"Sorry, I didn't see you. Besides, you said we shouldn't be seen together."

"What? I didn't say that."

"Yes, at the Ferrari party or whatever it was, you said 'it might be better if we don't spend too much time together' so people don't get 'the wrong idea.' So I've been giving you space when we're at Ferrari events together." Cat shrugged, and ignored the shocked expression Seb was giving her.

"I just meant that at that one event we should spend time with the new team and get to know them, and not just stick together."

"So you didn't want to hide the fact that we're dating? They all know that we're together?"

"Well, I might have mentioned it to a couple of people, but it isn't really a big deal." Seb shrugged and turned back to the stove to stir the pot of pasta.

"So you don't care if people think your girlfriend bought your way onto the team?" Cat tapped her pencil on the corner of her notebook and raised her eyebrow at him.

"Cat...it's not like that," he half turned back to her, while still watching the pasta.

"So you think you could have done this without my help?"

"I like to think that I still mean something in the world of F1, and that I'm still seen as the four time world champion I was last season. So, yeah, I could have done this without you, but teams like it when you bring sponsors."

"....but nobody wanted to sponsor you, so I had to help you out."

"Right. And now you're paying my salary," Seb replied glumly.

"Or Kevins." Seb rolled her eyes when she said this, his back still to her, but Cat continued. "Or, Britta's, or Annti's, or the engineers, or for those red overalls you look so cute in." Cat smiled, but he wouldn't look at her. "I know this is hard for you, but you don't have to push me away."

Seb turned off the stove and drained the pasta into a colander in the sink. He leaned against the sink and hung his head, letting the steam from the pasta rush past his head. His mind was torn with conflicting thoughts. On one hand, he didn't want to appear that he needed Cat's help so much, and he wanted to be okay with her talking with other guys and being independent. But on the other hand....

"I don't want to lose you...Cat, I love you," he turned around looked at Cat, his face showing his true, unhideable emotions.

His words hit Cat harder than Seb was expecting. She looked surprised, shocked, even a little upset-and not in a good way. She tried to wrap her head around what he had just told her: 'he loved her! Then why was he acting like such a jerk? But he loved her...?''

Cat realized she'd been staring at him, mouth hung open, for at least a minute. She swallowed and tried to focus and think of a good response. "Then be my boyfriend, my Sebby. I don't know 4-time world champion Sebastian Vettel; I know the kind, sensitive guy who used to drive me to school, the guy that helped me get over Heikki, and feel confident to be myself for the first time. That is the Seb that I know, and you are obviously trying to be someone that you're aren't any more. Just be yourself, don't try to live up to your past; that's just a memory now."

"You're right," Seb said as the realization settled in.

"I don't think anyone expects you to come back and be exactly the same as before, after taking a year off and nearly losing your best friend," Cat paused as an idea hit her. "Speaking of whom, maybe you should talk to Kimi."

"Why?" How could he help? And what exactly did Seb need help with? Kimi wasn't really the person he would go to for relationship help.

"He's older, more experienced, maybe he has some advice. I don't know," Cat shrugged.

"I guess I haven't seen him too much lately, It wouldn't hurt to stop by." Seb sighed and continued making their dinner. That had certainly not gone how he'd planned. He'd wanted to tell her when they were cuddled in bed, happy, maybe after some passionate lovemaking; not as a last-ditch effort to prove his intentions and end a fight.

But most importantly, he'd expected her to say it back. He realized how selfish that was; of course she was under no obligation to say it back. Yes, it might make it less awkward, so it would be polite to. But if you don't feel it, the right thing to do is not to say 'I love you' when you don't mean it, right? Maybe he just caught her off guard. Seb tried to convince himself he'd just surprised her, and that was all. One thing he couldn't shake, was the chumy way Kevin said 'hey' to her. It was like they were friends, or something. And that smile she gave him? Seb had seen that smile before, and he used to love seeing it on her face when he was around.

He went to bed feeling confused, and a little sad. Cat stayed up and studied for her exams late into the night, but she kept getting distracted by what Seb had told her. He loved her? Then why was he being such a dick about it? Boys were weird....


	17. Date Night

'It's over. It's actually over!' Cat thought in disbelief. She sighed with relief and rolled out of bed at 10:30 with no intention of changing out of her pajamas. "Finals are over!!!" She yelled and skipped gleefully down to the kitchen. After making breakfast, she set about making plans for that night. She wanted to have a special evening with Seb to make up for all the late nights she spent studying. She knew there had been some tension between the two of them over the past few weeks, but she knew this special night would make up for it. Hopefully.

These days, it didn't take much to put Sebby in a bad mood. For example, the nickname 'Sebby' was high on that list. He visited Kimi for a 'guys night' and only seemed to pick up some of Kimi's personality habits. During an interview after practice, he made a terse remark about Kevin, one that was totally uncalled for and uncharacteristic of Seb.

Cat decided it was time they did something to set the record straight. First, they were going to get dinner. Cat had found one of the best restaurants in the area, and not wanting to leave anything to chance, she made sure nothing would go wrong by buying out the restaurant for the night. Nothing could ruin a night more than someone approaching Seb for an autograph, or worse, to berate him for his crash last year. She had not yet experienced anything along those lines yet, but she'd seen the looks people gave him, like silent boo's.

Cat made sure his suit was hanging up in his room, and shined his shoes for him. When he got home, she was already dressed and was just finishing up her hair.

"You should wear that tonight," she said with a cheeky smile. Seb didn't ask any questions, but raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Okay," he shrugged and closed the door to change.

"I'd like you to be my chauffeur again tonight, for old time's sake. I need you to drive me to a date," Cat added, and heard Seb sigh on the other side of the door.

"Yes Miss Catherine," he replied, emerging from his room half dressed. As he buttoned up his shirt, Cat's eyes drifted over his chest. Now that he was working with his physio getting ready for next season, Cat was starting to notice some differences, many of which she liked.

"We're going to have a lot of fun tonight," she said quietly and slid her index finger along his collarbone as she finished tying his bow tie.

"I bet you are," he said under his breath as Cat turned to get her jacket. She heard him, but didn't reply. When they got in the car, she talked about the restaurant they were going to, and how awesome it was. Seb was quiet, nodding occasionally.

They pulled up to the well lit front entrance, and Seb got out to open the door for Cat. As she was getting out, a valet slipped into the driver's seat and asked for the keys.

"That won't be necessary," Seb said to him, "I'll be taking the car."

Cat snatched the keys out of his pocket and tossed them to the valet. "Don't be silly Vettel," she said with a wink, and led him inside.

"But, you said you were going on a date?" He sputtered as he followed Cat.

"I am," she turned around. "With you."

"Not with....Kevin?"

Cat cocked her head and gave Seb a confused looked. "Where do you get these crazy ideas?"

"But-but..." Cat walked ahead of him and was met by the hostess.

"Miss Catherine, your table is ready, and everything is exactly the way you asked." She smiled and turned to lead them through the empty restaurant. Seb looked around in confusion as they passed empty table after table until they came to a table by the window and near a fireplace. The view was fantastic; it looked over the city down below, and if it had been a few hours earlier, they might have witnessed a spectacular sunset.

The flickering candles between the two of them reflected in Sebs wide, confused, blue eyes as a bottle of pinot was brought to the table.

"For you, Monsieur," the waiter handed him a glass before pouring Cat's. The sound of a string quartet starteld Seb in the quiet of the restaurant, and he looked behind him.

"I see we have our own private orchestra tonight," Seb joked, and their first course was brought out. "This is my favorite, you remembered!" He remarked as he looked over his meal.

"I know what you're thinking, but I checked with your physio and everything you're eating tonight has been okayed with him. So you don't need to worry about running an extra few miles next week to make up for it."

"Actually, I was thinking how serendipitous it was that Kevin couldn't make it tonight," he added with a wink before he began eating. The rest of dinner really did contain his favorite foods, maybe altered a bit to fit his physio's prescribed diet, but they were still delicious.

The last course, gelato, was brought out in a bowl on a decorative plate, but tucked in between the two was a handwritten note. He immediately recognized it as Cat's handwriting and unfolded the note.

'I love you, and only you.'

He was speechless, and for a second, he thought he might cry. He'd been so wrong about tonight, about Cat and Kevin, about everything! It was like the blinders had been lifted, and he could finally see the whole picture. Seb had been so caught up in the idea that Kevin and Cat might be hooking up behind his back, or even right in front of him, that he didn't realize the exact opposite was happening. She loved him. She loved him!

He looked up at her, blinking away a few tears, and smiled. He was speechless.

"And that's not the only surprise tonight," Cat said with a smile.

Another surprise? Seb wasn't sure he could take another surprise, although if it was as good as this one, he'd be glad to hear it. But what was it? (He couldn't help but wonder if she was pregnant, but would that be a good thing? His mind wandered back to Heikki and the terrible things he'd done to Cat...) Seb was drawn out of his thoughts by Cat's hands enclosing his.

"I won't be going back to New York to finish school," she said excitedly, holding Seb's hand tightly.

"What? You're finishing your classes here? Or are you dropping out...?"

"Not exactly... I'm still graduating in May, like everyone else, but I've worked out a way that I can stay here, with you."

Seb thought the night couldn't get any better, but he somehow got a little bit happier.

"I have to do a final project, like any other engineering student, and I was going to do it on something lame, but I've found something much more interesting to spend the next five months obsessing over."

"And what's that?"

"You," she smiled. "Or, your car, rather. As an environmental engineering student, an F1 car is like a dream come true! And sinced I have a few connections on the team," wink wink, "this is the perfect opportunity for me!"

Things were finally settling in Seb's mind; all the pieces were coming together. He still felt like he didn't deserve any of this, but at least he didn't hate himself quite so much any more. The wrongs were slowly righting themselves, and everything he thought was against him, was actually what he had going for him the whole time.


	18. Australia

Kevin tapped his foot against the railing he was sitting on. His head was hung and he stared blankly at his red shoes. 'Red,' he thought with a sneer. 'A color I never thought I'd wear on the track.' He sighed and lifted his head when he heard his name being called. He hopped off the railing and followed his physio back to the caravans for a pre-race massage. Turning a corner, he was still staring at his shoes, and ran smack into someone.

"Oh my God, sorry-" she started

"No, its my fault...hey," he looked over the girl he'd just run into and a thousand distracting thoughts he didn't need ran through his mind. "That color really looks good on you," Kevin finally said.

Cat looked down at her red Ferrari polo and matching red shorts. "Thanks! It's so nice to wear shorts in the middle of the winter! Gotta love this Australian weather." She started to continue walking but stopped to turn back to a still gaping Kevin. "Didn't you come in second here last year?"

Kevin blushed; it was probably just from the heat, or at least that's what he told himself. It certainly wasn't because Cat's shirt was unbuttoned enough to clearly show off her Ferrari bikini top. He stopped himself from wondering if she was wearing the matching bikini bottoms under those short, low riding shorts, and shook his head back into focus. "Yeah, well, I came in third, but Ricciardo got disqualified, so I was bumped up to second." He concluded with a shrug, trying to seem modest, yet he really wanted to brag to her. He wasn't the bragging type, but something about Cat made him want to show off a bit. He mentally resigned as he reminded himself that Cat's boyfriend had four world championship titles and that his meager second place win could not stand up to that. He lowered his head and avoided her cheerful stare.

"Sweet," she nodded, not fully understanding. "Maybe you can do better this year." She patted him on the shoulder as she walked around him and continued walking toward the garage. He couldn't keep his eyes from following those red shorts, and mentally slapped himself. Taking a deep breath, he made his way to the the caravans, although at this point, he would need much more than a pre-race massage to get his head back in focus. Maybe a cold shower. Or a bucket of ice water to dump over his head.

Across the paddock, Kevin's teammate was noticing the same outfit on Cat, but with a different outcome. Seb slapped her butt as she walked by, earning him a shocked, girlish, gasp from Cat. She smiled and hid her face behind her clipboard.

"Sebastian, I have work to do," she tried to say seriously, but failed and ended up giggling.

"Cat, come here," he said and pulled her into a tight embrace. "You can't wear that kind of thing around here, you'll distract the mechanics." He whispered into her ear.

"Oh really? Just the mechanics?" She kissed his cheek and drew out of the hug, trying to get back to the checklist on her clipboard.

"Is that 'Ferrari Red' lipstick you're wearing?" He asked, wiping the smudge off his cheek.

"It is. It came with the bikini I'm wearing, and this shirt, and shorts, and this other pair of heels that I didn't want to wear, so I wore some filp-flops I already had. I'm not really a high heels kind of girl," Cat scrunched her nose as she showed off her footwear.

"I still think they look just as sexy." Seb replied.

"Hey, none of that," Cat stepped back and put her index finger over Seb's lips, stopping him. "I need you to win this race for me."

"You want me to win?" He laughed incredulously and his mood changed in a flash. "Cat...."

"What? A girl can hope, right?"

"Don't get your hopes up. I haven't raced in a year, and it was this race that ended things for Kimi, so," he shrugged, and added quietly, "I wouldn't expect much. You saw how qualifying went. I'm three places behind Magnussen, and I'm not used to this car. This track... I have history with this track, and I can't-"

"Vettel." Cat held her hand up to his lips again. "Hush. You're going to be fine. Right now, you are Sebastian Vettel, four time world champion. Go win this race for me. Or, at least don't come in last, okay? As long as you don't come in last, I'll be happy." Cat smiled and patted him on the back. "Darling, you do what you do best, and don't worry about the results. It's only your first race back, we're not expecting perfection. Just try your best, dear." Cat smiled and tried not to sound condescending. She meant it, and she hoped it showed. Cat wanted Seb to do well, so the doubters would have nothing to comment on, and his withering fans would have something to rally behind.

Seb nodded, though his mind was far away. He was warding off thoughts of the fiery crash that nearly took the life of his best friend. He tried to keep his mind away from those memories as he sat in his car in P14 waiting for the red lights to go out, starting the race. His first race. He was the new Seb; the Ferrari Vettel. He was the man who had driven a marvelous young woman to and from class this spring and fall, the one who'd picked her up after she had been tricked by Heikki. He was the one who had fallen undoubtedly, and wholeheartedly in love with the girl he was instructed to call 'Miss Catherine.' And he was still a Formula 1 driver.

One by one the red lights lit up.   
And then they all went out.

The familiar feeling in the pit of his stomach came back. It was a mix of adrenaline and ambition, mixed with the slight sensation of being turned on. The thrill of the race, the fight of competition: it's what's made his heart beat for so many years.

Until he met Cat. He had a new reason to wake up every morning. He had a new passion, a new love. Racing came second, and Seb wasn't sure what to do with this. He'd spent his whole life chasing the podium, and now the podium was in the shadow of this amazingly smart and fascinating woman. Cat had somehow overtaken the love of his life, and now he was working tirelessly to keep her in the lead, as racing crept up from behind. He had to keep the balance between Cat and racing, so that one love fed the other.

Cat had never seen anything like it. She sat in the garage with her headphones on, poised to take notes on her clipboard as the race started. But as soon as the cars took off, she could think nothing but of the safety of her Sebby. 'He's going too fast, right?' she thought and looked around, but no one seemed to be reacting. The engineers said something, but she didn't understand what it meant. All she saw was her boyfriend tearing around the tight corners at unspeakable speed, passing his fellow racers with inches to spare, and tearing down straightaways like he was about to take off.

Nothing could have prepared Cat for this. She'd seen Seb and Kevin practicing, but it was just them and the track. Now, with many drivers on the track, actually racing for a title, the stakes were higher, and the end result was all that mattered. She slowly sunk further back into the garage and listened to the correspondence on her headphones, most of it slipping right over her head.

Hours later, it seemed like, Seb and Kevin returned to the garage. Cat hadn't even paid attention to who had won, she just mindlessly went about filling out her checklist: how much fuel was left, how many stops each car had made, and other things that might be relevant to her final project. Her head was somewhere else, trying to be focus on Seb and his 9th place finish. Was 9th place good? Cat didn't know. Kevin had come in 7th, and that seemed okay, but was 9th okay for Seb?

Cat hung around near the back of the garage as Seb and Kevin got out of their cars. Kevin glanced her way and made an attempt at some sort of contact, which Cat responded with a half smile. She was worried. Was Seb going to be mad? Was he content with 9th place? She didn't know what to expect from a post-race Seb. She wanted to hug him, cuddle him close, and comfort him in his loss. 9th place surely was not good enough for Sebastian Vettel, right?

He climbed out of his car and walked over to the scale, like he always did. After being weighed, he took off the HANS device, removed his helmet and smiled. Seb thanked his engineers, gave a hug to his physio who had diligently watched the race and stood uncommenting at the back of the garage with Cat. Unzipping his overalls, Seb tied the arms around his waist before turning to look at Cat. He gave a hint of a smile before retire to his caravan.

'Is that all?' She thought. 'After everything we've been through, I get a half smile?' She sat down next to the car and finished up her notes. She got whatever information she could get from the engineers about the car before she sulked off to some corner and filled in the rest on her own. She wandered through the halls of the Ferrari caravans hoping to run into her boyfriend, and maybe then he would show some kind of affection towards her.

She sat down in the hall near his door. Maybe when he came out he would notice her. Fifteen minutes passed, and someone came out of the room, but it wasn't Seb. Five minutes later, someone else came out, and it wasn't Seb.

But he sat down next to her. Close enough that she could feel his heart beating.

"You can take your headphones off now, the race is over." He said and reached over to help her take them off. Cat didn't move and let him take her Ferrari issued headphones off and place them by her feet. He was quiet a moment, and Cat knew he wanted to say something else, so she let him.

"He's in the other caravan, you know," Kevin said, glancing over at Cat's face for a reaction.

She shrugged. "I can never find my way around. After all, it's only my first race." She was feeling sorry for herself, and she wasn't sure why. But she was going to relish the attention even though it wasn't what she was looking for. She wanted to make sure Seb was okay, yet her head was still spinning with the race.

Kevin was quiet. He didn't say anything else. He wanted to, there was so much he wanted to say, but this was not the place. Instead, he placed his hand near her foot, which Cat had curled up and wrapped her arms around her legs. Her nails were painted red too; Ferrari red.

"H-how was the race?" She whispered, barely turning toward Kevin.

"Weren't you watching?" He teased, and when she didn't return his humorous reply, he responded, "It wasn't bad. I guess you saw, but I came in 7th." He laughed, but Cat still looked morose. "I know it's not that 2nd place I managed to get last year, but 7th is still good. And at 9th, Seb has made a decent entrance back into F1." Kevin could sense Cat grow tense at the mention of her boyfriend's name and he sighed, again feeling that his efforts were futile. He stood up and helped her up too. "Come on, I'll show you to his quarters."

"Thanks," Cat managed to whisper as Kevin led her over to Seb's quarters. He glanced back a few times to make sure she was following, and tried to catch her eye, but her gaze remained fixed firmly on the ground in front of her, never once acknowledging Kevin. It was not until they were outside of Seb's door that she looked at his face.

"Thanks," she said with a smile. Even though it was fake, it lit up his night. Kevin knew he had a lonely hotel room to return to, but this smile warmed him enough.

"No problem," he smiled, and slipped away unnoticed.

Cat had turned toward the door and Kevin was practically invisible to her. She knocked on the door and waited for a reply, not noticing her guide had departed. Cat took a deep breath as she prepared her thoughts for Seb. But what does one say after a race? She didn't know. And she didn't know if he was upset, or pleased with the results. She couldn't judge the half smile he'd given her as he exited his car. Was he mad? Cat would find out.


	19. Post Race Reflections

Cat hesitantly placed her hand on the door knob. Should she knock? No, she knew what she wanted. She pushed the door open and walked in, trying to hold her head up. Seb was standing in the corner of the room looking out a window. She felt her heart beating faster and faster with anticipation.

"That race....it was pretty, um," She bit her lip, and didn't know how to continue. Was it good? Bad? She didn't even know.

He turned around and the intense look of desire on his face took Cat's breath away. It was clear that he didn't care about the outcome of the race, and there was only one thing on his mind. It didn't take long for Cat to reciprocate those feelings. He crossed the room to place his hand on her face, the other hand on her hip, slowly moving downward.

"Bed," she whispered in his ear and wrapped her arms tightly round his neck as he pushed her against the wall. He fumbled with the door, distracted by Cat's kissing, and finally just kicked it closed, leaving it unlocked. Cat reached up to tear his shirt off, and he pushed her back on the bed, trapping her slim frame beneath his muscular, toned body. Her shirt and bikini top disappeared as he moved from kissing her mouth lower, and lower, peppering her neck and chest with kisses until his lips found her nipple.

Cat gasped and he teased her for a few minutes before she moaned his name. Seb took this as his cue and moved his right hand between her legs, while his left hand worked her other nipple. He pushed her shorts off and after removing her bathing suit, he wet his thumb with her juices and slowly circled her nub before picking up the pace and sliding one, then two fingers into her. Cat swore in every language she knew, and pretty soon she was just mumbling incoherently as her mind went blank. Seb knew it wouldn't be long, as these were Cat's tell-tale signs of an impending orgasm. He switched his thumb for his mouth and sucked on her clit until her breath came in short gasps, and her twitching legs stiffened as her back arched. The pent up tension from the race was transformed into a massive orgasm, and it crashed down on her like a wave. Her eyes glossed over and everything went blank; it was just the two of them alone in this amazing cocoon of sexual passion.

Cat eventually came back to it, and opened her eyes to see a shirtless Seb removing the rest of his clothes. She didn't remember him taking his shirt off, and she reached forward to touch him, wanting to feel the hard muscle beneath his soft skin. She ran her hands over his chest, kissing him here and there, before moving down to strip him of the last of his clothes. Cat didn't hesitate to take him into her mouth, sucking softly and playfully at first, until she felt his hands on the back of her head. She repositioned herself so she was kneeling on the bed in front of him, one hand on the bed for support, one hand wrapped around the base of his cock.

Seb felt his knees getting weak, and while he loved what Cat was doing, he wasn't ready to let it end here. He reluctantly stopped her and pushed her back on the bed on her back and he climbed on top of her. Her legs fell naturally apart, just far enough for him to get in between and slide into her. "Fuck me," she whispered and bit her lip.

"I've been thinking about this the whole race" Seb breathed, and drove into her hard and fast until she came again, this time harder than the first orgasm. Seb's finish followed shortly after, unable to hold off any longer. They collapsed on the bed, totally spent, and murmured various cute things while they tried to catch their breath.

She curled around him and rested her head on his chest. As her head slowly stopped spinning and her brain came back into focus, she remembered the intensity of the race, and Seb's look after leaving his car. Was every race like this? Was this the effect racing had on him?

If so, Cat didn't mind. She smiled inwardly and let him wrap his arms around her, enclosing her in a secure embrace.

Cat wanted to enjoy the moment, but there were questions she needed answered. She closed her eyes and let herself melt into his grasp; feeling his arms around her made Cat feel safe. She knew the sex was most likely the result of some post-race high, or a misplaced emotion from losing to his younger, less experienced, teammate. Maybe he was just angry that he hadn't won, or made podium, or maybe there were some other lingering emotions from last year's race in Australia.

As Cat's mind raced with ideas, Seb lay behind her feeling nothing but momentary peace and emptiness. He'd spent the entire race trying to ignore the memories of what had happened last year. He tried to wipe the image of racing next to his close friend Kimi, but images of the crash kept reappearing every time he approached that corner. He remembered everything he did wrong, all the factors that led to Raikkonen's red Ferrari crashing into the wall, while his car spun around like a top, and he tried to fix it. It was like reliving a nightmare, over, and over, and over again, trying to change the outcome each lap.

But there it was. Each time he rounded that corner he was looking at that spot. But his year, instead of seeing a Ferrari car flying into the wall and bursting into flames, he made every corner expertly without making contact, or even getting close to the car he was battling with. He played it safe, and in the end, came out unscathed. But Sebastian Vettel doesn't 'play it safe.' He pushes the boundaries, and tests the limits. He doesn't stay within the parameters, and pushes those around him to drive outside of their comfort zone; Sebastian Vettel wins, he doesn't let people come in ahead of him.

It was just one race, though, right? He would come back stronger and faster than ever in two weeks at Malaysia. He would silence the doubters, and he would practice as much as he could. He would be better.

Seb was drawn out of his reverie by a quiet knocking on the door.

"One minute!" He said and dashed to grab his clothes. Cat dizzily sat up and looked at him. Why was he rushing? She reached for her bathingsuit top and re-tied it around her chest, and had just shimmied back into her tight red shorts as the door opened.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to walk in on you getting dressed....I didn't think..." Kevin trailed off, not hiding the fact that he was absently staring at Cat.

"I said 'one minute'!" Seb growled, sitting in his underpants trying to find the rest of his clothes.

"And I waited a minute before I opened the door!" Kevin retorted imperviously and shot Seb an almost childish look.

"Well what do you want?" Seb asked as Cat tried to pull her shirt on.

Kevin's eyes slid between Cat and Seb before finally landing on Seb's angry face. "Maurizio wants to see you." Kevin's gaze made one more pass over Cat before he blushed and left in a hurry. He stalked back to his room where he was met by his physio, who wanted to do a post-race workdown, but Kevin wouldn't have any of it. Rather abruptly, he told his physio off and slammed the door. Frustrated, he leaned against the door and slowly slid down.

'What are you getting yourself into, Kevin?' He thought, and bowed his head. 'You're an F1 driver; there are probably dozens, maybe even hundreds of girls who'd be willing to have you, yet you pick the one girl you can't touch.' He peeled himself out of his racing suit and headed off to take a cold shower, something he foresaw himself doing a lot in the near future.

On the long plane ride back to Switzerland, Cat busied herself in her studies. She was still in school, even if 'school' counted as going to the racetrack and watching her boyfriend drive. She was halfway through the semester, and theoretically her senior project should be halfway done. However, it was far from being completed. Each time she came across something new it sent her project in a new direction. Things were slowly spiraling away from her, and she knew she needed to present her work so far to her advisor. She would be traveling to New York next week to meet with him, yet at this point, she didn't have anything conclusive to present to him. She knew the cars went fast, and took a lot of fuel, that part was obvious; it was all the hidden environmental effects that kept adding to her research. The energy spent warming the tires before races and qualifying, the disposal of tires after one use, the fuel spent driving the team caravans across the world to each race, the fact that they flew halfway across the world just to drive around a racetrack.... So many factors to take into her final project, but what was really important? When Cat first set out to be an environmental engineer, she never imagined herself getting into motorsports, something that does not seem environmentally friendly at all.

However, compared to the F1 cars over the past few decades, these cars were significantly more efficient, yet just as fast. Cat had never been interested in mechanical engineering, but she found herself digging further and further into the details of how the cars were made. Luckily, there was a team of experienced mechanical engineers to explain to her what was going on with the cars, and the changes made to make them more fuel efficient. Really, it was fascinating, but not at all what Cat had spent the last three and a half years studying. She had focussed on studying water pollution, and how to provide clean water to developing and third world countries. She had imagined herself going to Africa and working in an impoverished country, or maybe going to China and helping to keep the industrializing country from ruining their clean water supply.

But studying racecars? It was a sport, something people did for fun. No matter how important it was to Seb, or Kevin, or anyone else involved in the sport, it somehow didn't seem as imperative to Cat as having clean drinking water. No matter how hard she tried to shake that thought from her mind, it always crept back when she wasn't paying attention. Were her efforts wasted? As she looked toward the F1 race in Malaysia, she couldn't help picturing the juxtaposition of one of the most glamorous sports with a country like Malaysia. Somehow, it didn't seem right. A country devastated by deforestation, which has decimated the population of certain animals, Cat felt her place in Malaysia shouldn't be on the racetrack, but in the rainforests. Cat tried to dismiss these thoughts, saying they weren't her problem right now, but they were. These were entirely the kinds of problems she set out to fix.

She closed her eyes and slipped into a fitful sleep on the long flight from Australia. Seb was next to her, sleeping equally unwell. He had his doubts about Malaysia, but in a completely different way. He hoped the next race would be uncomplicated by thoughts of Kimi's crash, and he would be unhindered by a pretense of caution. He just needed to get back into the game.

Cat was exhausted by the time they landed, but still took the time to listen to the voicemail her father left her. She hadn't heard from him lately, so she assumed it might be something important.

And it was.

_'Catherine, Briggsley informs me that you have made an investment in the Ferrari F1 team. Now, I know that money was in your name, but it was not technically yours. I gave it to you because I could not, for tax reasons, have my entire fortune under my name. I had planned to use that money somewhere very important, and I have come into a very...difficult situation because it is no longer there. I really wish you would consult me before spending my money on petty projects like your boyfriends racecar. I doubt there is any way to get that back now, but Cat, I hope you know how frustrated I am with you. You have made things very difficult for me!'_

Cat had never heard her father this angry before. He was nearly sputtering as he said those last words, and she thought the message was over, but quietly, he added:

_'I really wish things between you and Heikki had worked out.... this would be so much easier if it had.'_


	20. Between a Rock and .... a Gorgeous Finnish Psycho?

Albert sat at his desk and stared absently at the mantel over the unlit fireplace. He'd been there for hours reconfiguring the numbers, trying to find a way out of this conundrum. But every time he came up short. Wayyy too short. Like, 25 million euros short. Exactly the amount Cat had given Ferrari. 

"Oh Catherine," he sighed and his eyes rested on the portrait of her over the mantel. It had been painted shortly after her eighteenth birthday when she officially became a part of 'ACE.' Had he known she would spend his backup money so carelessly on some boy, Albert would have left her out.

He had created ACE as a tax free way to tie up his money, while looking like a family oriented guy. The name is of course an acronym of Albert, Catherine, and Elizabeth- something Briggsely had suggested. It gave Albert the appearance of caring about more than just his business and increasing the yearly profit. While that wasn't true, he was perhaps a little more ruthless and hard than some of his competitors. 

But not with Catherine; he chose the more 'distant yet stern' approach to parenting. He knew Catherine's upbringing lacked in some areas because she didn't have a mother. Albert had not dated anyone since Elizabeth died, never tried to find a mother figure for his daughter. Some thought it was because he was afraid of getting tricked again, into marrying someone who only wanted his money. But the real reason is far less complicated than that. He hardly talked about her, and he'd told even less people this, but he had loved Elizabeth and was heartbroken by her death.

She may have tricked him into getting her pregnant, but he fell in love with her of his own volition. The fact that she started to show her interest in him after he'd made his first million showed what kind of a person she was. But they had that in common- they liked money. However, she was not interested in making money herself. She wasn’t as terrible as it sounds; Elizabeth just prefered the freedom of not having to work. She was involved in many charities, and wanted to help other who were less fortunate. She also loved interior design, and had decorated all of Albert’s homes. She always said she would have been an interior designer if Albert hadn’t come along, and often said once Cat was older she might make a profession for herself in that field. However, Elizabeth, never had a chance to do that, and Albert kept the interior decoration the same in her memory, no matter how outdated.

Albert had been in his office in London when he happened to come across Mr. Vettel. His office was on the top floor, shared with the offices of none other than Red Bull Racing. There was a terace on the west side of the building that the two offices both had access to, however hardly anyone went out there other than to smoke due to the wind. It might have been a bit windy and unpleasant, but Albert didn't mind and liked to watch the sunsets in person. 

He was only in his London office every few weeks and often didn't stay too long, so this chance meeting really was unexpected. Albert hardly ever saw anyone from the Red Bull office next door, and certainly never any of the drivers. The majority of the team was based in Milton Keynes- this office was mostly for dull paperwork. 

So exactly what Mr. Vettel was doing there Albert couldn't work out. However, what he was planning on doing, leaning far over the railing, was quite clear.

"I hope you aren't planning on jumping." Albert said, taking care not to sound too interested. "We're up so high, some poor chap will have to scrape you off the pavement."

Seb leaned back a little, but still kept his eyes on the ground far below. Albert remained where he was and continued to watch the sunset. He was busy and didn't want to be tasked with talking someone off the edge of a building. Surely someone else will notice and come out to assist him.

But no one from the other offices seemed to care, and the two remained alone on the terrace. Albert sighed and took a few steps closer so he wouldn't have to speak so loudly.

"I'm sure whatever it is can be worked out, and it really can't be worth ending your life over."

Seb did not turn, but he lifted his face slightly so Albert could see him more. In the light of the setting sun she could see the unkempt beard, the deep circles under his eyes, the lines of worry marking his face. It took him a second, but Albert realized who he was talking to.

"My longterm girlfriend dumped me," Seb started. "I might have killed or seriously injured my best friend, and I'm about to lose my dream job and the only thing I'm good at. If I go back in there they're going to fire me and pin the whole accident on me, even though it might have been a technical error."

"And you thought, I'll just jump off the building so I don't have to go back inside? You know, there is another way off the terrace. You can just come through my office."

"And then what?"

"And then you can figure this out somewhere besides the side of a very tall building."

"What's there to figure out? I'm going to lose everything."

"Now you see here boy, that's where you're wrong. Growing up in the East End was hard for me and my family and I was so determined to get out of there. All I had was determination and a good head on my shoulders, as my mother would say, and now I'm here." Albert gestured back toward his office. "And this is just one of my offices."

"That's really great, but I'm not looking to become a millionaire or business tycoon. Although, I did just lose all of my money."

"Then it looks like you could use a job."

"What?" Seb gave him a look that said 'I'm contemplating killing myself, don't offer me a job.'

"Nothing is worse than a man without a purpose or a mission. Let me give you one." Seb didn't say anything, but something in his expression changed, so Albert kept talking. "I'm based in New York, but I have a vast network and many connections. I could sneak you through my office and out of the county. That would at least give you time to think things over some more."

Seb was deep in thought as he considered Alberts proposal. It would be very drastic, but not as permanent as his solution. At least he'd have the chance to come back once things blew over, if they did. He gave one last look at the doors at the other end of the terrace that led into the RBR offices.

"Okay. But we'd better go quickly before they start looking for me."

Back in his London office almost a year later, Albert couldn’t help but wonder if events might have been different if he’d left Seb alone on the terrace. Of course Albert didn’t wish he had let Seb go through with it (although he never thought he really would.) However, he was starting to wonder if he should have just stayed out of it. Let Seb walk back into the RBR offices and sign whatever paper he had nearly jumped off a building to avoid. It certainly would have gotten Albert out of this mess with Catherine and Ferrari, and his missing 25 million euros. 

‘I already have the jet on collateral, so that will go, and I could sell the country house in Connecticut to cover the rest,’ Albert thought, still staring absently at the mantel. ‘That would break Cat’s heart, though. However, she is the one that got us into this mess.’

Well, not exactly. Albert was the one that put too many of his eggs in one basket. He wasn’t the gambling type, but sometimes you had to take chances. This particular chance had now led his fate to be in the hands of a woman he wasn’t entirely fond of any more: Mrs. Houvinen. 

She had been contacting him almost daily since his deadline was up. He said he would have the money by the 15th, and when it wasn’t in the account when he tried to wire it to her, it didn’t take Albert long to track it down. Today it was Heikki who gave him a call, at his mother’s request. After a bit of debating (which Cat’s name came up several times), Heikki finally suggested something as a last ditch effort.

"Why don't you just date my mom? She's the one you want a work relationship with-keep Cat and I out of this. Hasn’t she been through enough already?”

Albert scoffed at Heikki’s crude remark, but he was really just mad he hadn’t thought of it first. Really, it was an excellent business move. They both had influence, but in different circles. Together they would be able to help each other out, filling in where the other was lacking. On the outside it would look completely natural: a widow and a widower finding love after their children’s failed attempt at romance. 

But could he actually do it? After what she’d tried to do to Cat? There must be more to it; Albert convinced himself there had to be. Mrs. Huovinen was smart, a little on the cunning side, but she wasn’t evil and selfish enough to do that. She must have some kind of reason behind her actions, however crazy they were, and Albert was willing to find out what they were. 

“I think she and I should talk in person,”Albert finally said to Heikki. 

“Okay, but the deal is still off if you can’t come up with that money by the end of the week,” Heikki said before he hung up.

“I’m sure we’ll work something out,” Albert said to himself and smiled.

  
Cat was scrambling to get her notes together before she flew to New York to meet with her advisor. She’d spent the whole week worrying about what her dad had said, and many times considered calling Heikki. If her dad was right, and getting back together with Heikki would fix this problem she’d created, then she could at least try talking to him. Cat wasn’t even sure what the issue was with the money, but she knew her dad was pretty upset so it had to be bad.

She felt guilty about investing in Ferrari without consulting him, but she didn’t think she needed to. He had said it was hers, ‘a little something to practice investing with.’ Almost like a plaything, a toy; like when you give a child an easy Easy-Bake oven so they can pretend to bake, ‘just like mommy.’ That 25 million euros had been Cat’s Easy-Bake oven. And she had ruined it.

On the eve of her flight to New York, she sat in the Ferrari headquarters in Italy gathering some last minute statistics to present to her advisor. It was pretty quiet, only a few people remained at the end of the day. Cat sat at a desk and was pawing through her papers trying to make sense of her notes, but she was too distracted by thoughts of Heikki and guilt for spending her father’s money. Finally, she just laid her head on the desk and started crying, completely lost and overwhelmed.

Kevin came around the corner and heard her crying softly. He was going to keep walking and not disturb her, but she looked up when she heard him. “Are you okay?” He asked and came over to her desk.

“Yeah, I’m sorry,” she sat up and dried her eyes. “It has nothing to do with this, just personal stuff.” She gestured around the office and her notes with her free hand as she grabbed a tissue with the other. 

“Oh. I’m sorry; is there anything I can do to help?” He sat down on the couch near her desk and she turned her chair to face him.

“It’s just…” She searched for the right way to say this without giving away too much information. “I’ve made a huge mistake, and now I’m going to have to pay for it. Like, pretty bad.” A new round of tears came pouring down her face at the thought of breaking up with Seb so she could date Heikki.

“Hey there, it’s alright. I’m sure things will work out in the end,” he scooted forward and put his hand on her arm, trying to comfort her. He never knew what to do when girls cried, especially not girls he had a crush on.

“I don’t think it can be okay. My sponsorship for Sebby? It was funded with money that my dad had put in a kind of trust fund for me. But it turns out he only did that so he could keep it as a ‘backup’ source of funding. And he was going to use it in a very important business transaction that he’s been planning for months. And now I’ve ruined it!” She leaned forward into his arms, crying on his shoulder as if he were Seb. Nothing made sense anymore, and everything was falling apart. She would have to leave Seb, leave Ferrari, go back to New York to finish school, or maybe move to Finland to be with Heikki, if that would fix whatever it was her dad was trying to negotiate with Mrs. Houvinen. 

There were other options, of course, but Cat’s brain was swimming and she only saw all the negative and worst outcomes. She only saw her and Seb breaking up, and her having to be with Heikki for…. she didn’t know how long. As Cat pulled away from Kevin her lips brushed against his cheek.

As Kevin was trying to figure out if it was an accident, or if she’d meant to do it, she did it again- except this time her lips landed on his. Before he could resist himself, he was leaning into the kiss, trying to extend it as long as possible. He didn’t know what this was, or why she was doing it, but he couldn’t help himself and he didn’t see him being the one to stop it. 


	21. Second Chance

Heikki sat in the waiting room of the Helsinki Airport. He checked the time again, and made sure the flight was on time, before he returned to reading a newspaper someone had left behind. It was yesterday’s paper, but he read it anyway. Or, looked at it, rather. His mind was far away as he tried to figure out how he was going to deal with this problem. 

First, there was the strange phone call with Albert. He never really liked Albert, and didn’t understand why his mom wanted to do business with him (besides the fact that he had money). Then, he’d had to request leave from the navy. Heikki was just starting to feel like he was making a place for himself without his mother’s influence, and was starting to break free from her control. 

But here he was, on leave from the job he was starting to like, helping his mother one last time. After this, he wouldn’t be dragged back into her schemes, no matter what kind of hold she had on him. At this point, her reputation had been sullied enough that whatever she claimed about him would most likely be taken with a grain of salt. Besides, that was years ago and he was young- most people would forgive him for his careless mistakes in his youth.

The second reason he let his mother drag him into this again, was Cat. When he heard she’d spent all of her father’s money on her new boyfriend, and ended up accidentally ruining this deal his mom and Albert had been working on, he felt bad for having dragged her into it. Now he had to get her out of it. She called him in tears a few nights ago, and he could tell she was trying to sound like she wasn’t crying. Cat said she wanted to try giving him a second chance, and she forgave him for everything. He knew her dad was behind this, and he hoped the two of them (Cat and Heikki), could work something out. 

He heard her flight number being announced and stood up to meet her. He put his on his white hat and straightened out his uniform as he waited for Cat to get through customs. She was looking down at her phone and pulling her suitcase behind her and didn’t even see Heikki waiting for her, so she walked right past him.

“Cat!” He called out to her and she froze. She slowly turned around to face him, and he made sure to give her one of his best smiles. 

“I didn’t know you’d be here,” she after looking him over for a minute.

He shrugged and caught up to her. “I thought I would meet you here, just makes it easier. Let me take your bag for you.” He took the handle of her suitcase and they continued walking toward the exit. He showed her to his car and they drove to her hotel. He wasn’t sure what to say to her, and she didn’t seem like talking either, so they were silent the whole car ride. 

“Thank you,” Cat finally said. He’d carried her suitcase up to her room, and didn’t really know what to do. They needed to talk, but he really didn’t know how much she already knew, or what was going on.

“No problem, it wasn’t really that hard for me to carry your bag up here.”

“No, I mean for agreeing to see me again.” Cat bit her lip to keep it from trembling. 

Heikki smiled and tried to look comforting, but really he felt bad for her. He wanted to give her a hug and tell her everything would be all right, but he couldn’t promise that. “Why wouldn’t I want to see you? I would never turn down a visit from my favorite Cat.”

“After everything that happened, I thought maybe we could start over.” She pressed her lips together and forced a smile. 

“Listen, Cat, we don’t have to do this. If you think you have to pretend-”

“I’m not pretending; I really think we should give this a second shot.”

Heikki sighed. “So you left your racecar driver boyfriend for your crazy ex who tried to get you pregnant because his mom told you to? Really miss Catherine, no one’s going to believe that. If we’re going to pass for a couple we’ve got to try harder.”

His bluntness caught her off guard. Cat had really thought she’d convinced him she still had feelings for him, and that perhaps she had fixed things. She hung her head and slumped on the bed. “So you know.”

“Yeah, I know,” he sat next to her and hesitated before wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “Your dad wishes we’d never broken up, and my mom is furious at your dad. Somehow, us dating might have made things better.”

“He thinks you’re better than Seb, somehow. And he’s never liked that I’m dating Seb. I never told him, but he just knows. He knows everything.”

“Speaking of whom, what does Vettel know about all of this?”

At the mention of his name, Cat broke down and began sobbing about Seb, and Kevin, and how everything was falling apart. She leaned into Heikki and let him wrap his arms around her until she felt safe and secure.

“He thinks I’m in New York meeting with my advisor about my final project, which is where I’m supposed to be right now. I accidentally told Kevin, but that’s only because I started crying after I kissed him. I’m sure he thinks I’m crazy now.” Cat forgot how easy it was to talk to Heikki. He made you feel like the only person that was important to him. She’d forgotten how nice that felt, especially since Seb had been so distracted with F1 these past few months. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, letting his warmth and secure embrace erase her worries. He wasn’t the monster she’d made him out to be in her head.

“Maybe we should start making plans for dinner tomorrow. Our parents want to meet with us, and we should probably get our story straight.” Heikki reluctantly broke the silence and ended the moment between them. It was a short, but special moment. 

As Cat lifted her head off his shoulder, she thought ‘maybe it won’t be so hard to pretend to be his girlfriend after all.’ She smiled and relaxed as some of her worry and anxiety was melted away with those gorgeous blue eyes of his. “So, should we try to convince them we’ve gotten back together?”

“I was thinking we should say we never broke up.” Heikki suggested and Cat looked at him questioningly. “Like, publicly, we broke up so my mom would stop pursuing her crazy plan to knock you up and steal your money. But we were secretly in love and kept talking all these months.”

Cat thought about it for a minute. It seemed crazy. “Why would I date Seb if I was still in love with you?”

“Can’t a girl love two guys at once?”

His offhanded question hit Cat harder than she thought. Was it possible? “I’m sure some girls could, but not me. I’d never had a serious boyfriend until I met you, and then Seb came along...I guess it could be convincing, but I’m not really that kind of girl.”

“Okay, but we’ll have a lot of catching up to do.” Heikki smiled and launched into a detailed account of his time in the navy over the past few months and the two ended up talking well into the night. 

When it came Cat’s turn to recount her past couple months she yawned. “Perhaps we should continue this tomorrow.”

Heikki stood up and moved away from her bed. “You’re right, perhaps I should go.”

“No, you should stay here. If we’re supposed to be secret lovers, it would make sense you’d spend the night.”

“I-okay.” Heikki looked around the small hotel room and wondered if he’d be taking the couch.

“I’ll just take a shower quickly, and then we’ll go to bed, okay?” Cat slipped into the shower and Heikki set about making up the couch into a slightly usable bed. He removed most of his uniform and decided to sleep in his undershirt and boxers, when Cat emerged from the bathroom in her pajamas. They were the warm, unsexy kind of pajamas, and Heikki was thankful for that. Whatever he might have felt for her, he knew their pretend relationship was nothing more than that. 

“What are you doing over there? That couch is far too small for you. This bed is more than big enough for the two of us. We can be grown ups about this.” Cat climbed into bed and would not hear his protests so he gave in and slipped into the other side of the bed far from Cat. He heard her fall asleep quickly, her breath falling into a rhythm, and it reminded him of the one night they had spent together. How they’d spent little time sleeping as they made love time after time. How he fought with his mother the next morning, before ultimately being forced to fulfil the last part of her mission. How Cat had caught him stealing her birth control, and switching it for the fertility pills. How sad and betrayed she had looked before she left. How empty and alone he felt on his return to Finland. 

Heikki did not sleep well that night, but Cat seemed to awake feeling refreshed and reenergized, as one should after sleeping. They headed over to his place to pick up some clothes and stopped to get some breakfast first. Cat told him most of the details of her exciting time with Ferrari, leaving out the unimportant parts about Seb, or Kevin, and tried to get him up to date with any information he might need to convincingly be her secret lover.

When they got to his apartment they were still chatting as they walked up the stairs to his room. When they reached the top of the stairs, his mom appeared in a robe and looked very surprised to see him.

“What are you doing here?” Heikki asked and reached over to hold Cat’s hand, as if they were a couple and it was the most normal thing for him to do. But before she could answer, someone emerged from the room behind her, tying a robe around his waist.

Cat blinked a few times. She could not believe what she was seeing. “Dad?!!?” She let go of Heikki’s hand took a step back, almost falling down the stairs, but Heikki caught her. Her head was spinning and she clung to Heikki’s arm and tried to figure out what was going on.

Heikki seemed equally confused as Cat, so she assumed this was not part of the plan. They both looked back and forth between their parents and waited for an explanation, but everyone seemed too surprised to say anything. 

“We, er, we were going to tell you tonight,” Albert looked over at Mina at his side, and realized she wasn’t going to help him out. “We’re in a relationship.”


	22. Malaysia/China/Bahrain

Seb was feeling on top of the world. The Ferrari was testing much faster on Friday in Malaysia, Cat had not stopped smiling since she returned from New York, and he had just out-qualified Rosberg for second place. A year ago, he would not have thought this outcome possible, but in his shiny new red car he actually had a shot at podium.

What Seb did not know, was that his girlfriend had kissed his teammate, and then run off to Finland to be with her ex-boyfriend. It was really all a huge misunderstanding, and the situation somehow worked itself out in the end, so Cat didn't feel the need to tell Seb any of it. She was still processing the events herself and trying to figure out what exactly had happened. She had gone to Finland fully intending to get back together with Heikki, thinking that it would solve the problems she created with her dad and his mom, Mina. But she and Heikki accidentally discovered that Albert and Mina were one step ahead of them, and were already in a relationship of some sort.

Cat thought it was another fake set-up, like she and Heikki had been, but it just didn't seem right. There was something very genuine about Albert and Mina, and honestly, it grossed Cat out, so she didn't ask any questions. They claimed to have both realized their love for eachother over the past few weeks as they tried to negotiate the details of the trade Cat had messed up. In a way, they were both messed up enough to pretend to be in love to the point where they married each other, out of spite and convenience.

Cat shook those thoughts out of her head, and tried to focus on the race. It was hot, too hot for Cat. The humidity was making her hair frizz, and sweat trickled down her spine. How were they out there driving like that? Stuck in those hot cars, in their racing overalls and helmets- it must be unbearable. She was wearing a light, flowy, strapless dress, and even that was too much.

In this heat, time seemed to trickle by, yet Cat had somehow not noticed that it was now lap 49, and her boyfriend was still in the lead. How he had gotten so far ahead of Hamilton she wasn't sure, but she didn't care. Cat jumped up from her seat to watch the monitors better, and listened to the engineers excited chattering over the headphones.

As he rounded the last corner and started his final, winning lap, Cat's mind went blank and she could only see her Seb speeding toward victory. Heikki, her father, and Mina seemed a million miles away. The memory of kissing Kevin seemed like a glimpse at a past life. None of that was important because her boyfriend was about to win his first GP with Ferrari, his first since winning his 4th world title in 2013.

His heart was racing as he pulled into the parking spot reserved for first place, but the only thing he was thinking about was giving his girlfriend a hug and a kiss. After climbing out of the cockpit and standing on his car with a Ferrari flag, that's exactly what he did. Except in his excitement, he forgot to take his helmet off, so Cat kissed his helmet. Seb leaped in the air as he made his way to the top step of the podium. There were so many thoughts running through his head, but the only thing was Cat. He tried not to think of Kimi, and how he should have been here racing with him today, or of his idol, Michael, who had raced for Ferrari. Seb tried to erase all of those images, and focus on the one person who had helped him get where he was today: Cat.

She was the only thing on his mind as he stood on the podium, hearing the German, then Italian, national anthems play. The post race interview seemed to drag on forever, when all he wanted to do was celebrate with his girlfriend. By the time Seb and Cat returned to their hotel room they were exhausted, but still found the energy to celebrate.

Seb was fueled by the adrenaline of winning a race, and Cat was more than willing to let him do whatever he wanted to her. It started slow, with Cat removing her shirt and complaining it was too hot.

"Then why don't you take the rest of it off?" Seb asked suggestively and reached to unbutton her shorts, hooking his thumbs in her lace undies before slipping them both off. Cat smiled and fell back on the bed in her unmatching bra, but Seb didn't care that her bra was pink polka dots and her underwear was (Ferrari) red lace. He didn't care that she hadn't shaved in a week, or that she was hot and sweaty.

Cat owed it to him, after everything she'd done the past week, to let Seb tie her to the bedpost with his tie and fuck her every way he wanted, or whatever it was he had in mind. She closed her eyes and fought back a smile, knowing that whatever was coming was going to be great and leave her, well, cumming.

She closed her eyes and Seb set about making her the happiest girl in Malaysia. Although there were no ties or anything like that, it still had the end result she was hoping for. They lay in bed catching their breath and slowly coming down from a high only close couples understood. Seb wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on her breast, slowly rising and falling as she breathed.

Her mind raced like Seb's Ferrari; round and round the same track, but still not going anywhere. To tell Seb... not to tell Seb... what he doesn't know doesn't hurt him. But would it really hurt him? Her spinning thoughts rocked her to sleep, without helping her made up her mind. '

Morning came, and brought a long flight back to Switzerland. Seb was still chipper, as expected after getting his first win, but Cat had not made up her mind. She had more important issues to focus on, like graduating from college, or finishing her final project. If she pushed the issue aside for now, surely it would work itself out in the end. Right?

And this is exactly what Cat did. She concentrated on school for the next two weeks before the Chinese grand prix. In Shanghai, she focused on her final project. Cat reanalyzed her notes and sent the latest version of her project to her advisor hoping for some great feedback. She had been a little distracted lately, but Cat really felt her project was heading in the right direction.

Seb looked disappointed on the podium, only coming in third after his previous win. He was starting to think this third place podium had his name on it. Still, it was better than nothing, and it was certainly better than last year. He wasn't sad- not by any definition of the word- but he wasn't happy with the outcome. He'd beat the Mercedes boys once, he could do it again. That was goal, his focus, the light of the end of the tunnel. That was his driving force as he prepared for Bahrain, and hopefully his next podium, if not win.

Cat's advisor finally got back to her, and requested they meet in person. He suggested she refocus her project and considered extending the due date until the end of summer. It 'needed work.' A lot. Her project was weeks behind where he thought it should be, and recommended Cat return to New York to finish her project so he could keep a closer eye on her.

At the moment, Seb was too preoccupied to notice Cat was upset. A dumb mistake cost him a place on the podium, where he was replaced by his younger, less experienced teammate. There was already tension between them, but now Seb was noticeably irritated.

"That kid, the nerve he has-" he slammed the door and startled Cat in the middle of revising her project. "Oh my GOD!" He continued in German, but Cat had an idea of what he was saying.

He knew. He knew about the kiss. He must know, why else would he be so mad? So what, Kevin finished ahead of him, that wasn't enough to cause this kind of reaction. No, Seb knew that Cat had kissed Kevin. Any minute now he would turn his anger to her, and she braced herself for his harsh words.

"I'm sorry!" She wailed and broke down in tears. "I didn't mean to do it!"

"What?"

"I didn't mean to kiss Kevin, it just happened!" Tears streaming down her face, Cat laid her head on her desk and covered it with her arms. As her final project was falling apart, the one thing she was holding onto started slipping away. She couldn't lose Seb, not now. However, she felt she deserved it.

"Cat, what are you talking about?"


	23. Spain/Monaco

Kevin watched the Spanish GP from the pitwall. He'd almost skipped it he was so mad. Why was a reserve driver in his car, after he'd gotten his first podium of the season last race? What did he do wrong? Kevin kept his anger to himself and tried to take it professionally, but this was really a shock to him.

Out on the track, Seb was thinking of anything but Kevin. He knew why Kevin wasn't racing, but that wasn't important right now. Beating the Mercs was all he had in mind right now.

Cat watched the race from New York while finishing up her final project. She had gotten an extension so she had a few more weeks to finish it up. With any luck, she would still graduate in time to be able to celebrate at the Monaco GP with Seb.

Albert and Mina sat in an office in Helsinki. Their lawyers were both present as witnesses and watched over the procedure carefully, advising their clients when necessary. It wasn't a complicated process, really. Lots of people did it and, and for Albert and Mina, it was their second time-but their first with each other. Yes, Albert and Mina were getting married and dividing their assets. On the outside, it was purely a business move, and that's what they want everyone (including their own children) to believe.

Heikki, equally unaware of his mother's activity as Cat was of her father's, sat on a boat in the North Sea looking over the radar and really hoped Putin hadn't put a nuclear bomb in one of the strange vessels that appeared off the coast. Would fishing boats really be out that far? He didn't think so.

Another podium, and another third place for Seb. He should be happy, but really he wanted nothing more than to beat one, if not both, of the Mercedes. He'd done it once this season, then surely he could do it again, right?

Maybe, but not this race. There was nothing to do but look forward and prepare for Monaco. It was always a fun race with an exciting atmosphere, so maybe things would shake up. But first, he had to fly to New York City and watch his girlfriend graduate from college with honors. He was looking forward to that most, because he hadn't seen her since shortly after the Bahrain GP. She left to return to New York to finish her project right after her little confession.

She didn't know if he would be there. She didn't blame him if he didn't come. He was busy, and after all, she had kissed his teammate. Seb wouldn't see it that way, though. He assumed she meant Kevin had kissed her-it had to be that way. So he angrily stormed into Maurizio's office and demanded Kevin be fired, or released from his contract, whatever it took to get him away.

But Maurizio wouldn't hear any of it. "That's nonsense, he just got his first podium. Why should we do that?"

"Because....because I'll leave if you don't." Seb was angry and not afraid to hide it.

"Please, tell me what is going on? Why do you react so strongly to Kevin? He's a good driver, a good person, I think he's helping the team quite a bit." Maurizio tried to reason with Seb.

"He's not," he said between his teeth. "He kissed my girlfriend, and I want him out of here, or I'm leaving!"

With that, he turned and left the italian's office, not waiting to hear his response. He found Cat and managed to say an angry goodbye to her, still upset from his conversation with his boss, before she left to return to NYC. She was crying, and he knew it was because they would be apart for a while, so he tried to comfort her the best he could.

While Maurizio could not fire Kevin, he did manage to get him out of one race and replace him with reserve driver Esteban Gutierrez . His reasoning was a little complicated, and unorthodox, but he made sure Kevin did not clear his medical exam before the Spanish GP. It was not right, he knew it, but hopefully it would allow whatever was going on between Seb and Kevin to cool down.

 

Cat looked in the mirror and adjusted her mortar board. They were the most awkward hats, and she hated wearing it. But this was the last time she would have to wear a cap and gown. She had decorated it, like many of her classmates had, but she was sure her hat was the only one with a Ferrari logo on it. Making sure her tassel was in the right spot, she took a deep breath before leaving to get in line to graduate.

As she listened to the commencement speech Cat wondered if Seb had come. He seemed angry the last time they spoke, and even though she had texted him almost every day, they were both too busy to have a conversation longer than 'how was your day?' Cat didn't ask Seb about Kevin; she didn't want to stir up any unnecessary feelings. They had not talked about her kissing him any farther than what she had said that night. Perhaps he didn't understand?

As the ceremony ended, she gladly took off her cap and threw it with the rest of her classmates. She couldn't find it at first, and searched for the red car sticker. There were so many people, families and friends trying to get pictures and hug their new graduates, and for a moment, she got lost. Cat was sure her father would come, right? He wouldn't forget this....

She blinked and realized she was staring, and her hat was being handed to her.

"Seb?" Cat looked up at the person holding her cap.

"Nice decoration," he said and looked over the little car sticker again.

"That's you," she pointed to the little driver in the car and smiled. He smiled back at her before placing the cap crookedly on her head and giving her a hug.

"Congratulations Cat, you deserved this," he took her diploma case from her and opened it up. "Why is it empty?"

"I, uh, haven't actually graduated yet. Once I hand him my project they'll mail it to me." She explained, and felt embarrassed.

"Nice job, Catherine." Her father's voice startled her and she almost dropped the diploma case as Seb handed it back to her.

"Thanks," she smiled uncomfortably at him and his companion. "I wasn't sure you'd make it."

"Why not? I couldn't miss this-I'm paying for it, after all," Albert chuckled.

"I just hadn't talked to you lately, since..." Cat didn't want to finish the sentence. She hadn't told her boyfriend about her trip to Finland, or anything that happened there.

"Since you came to Finland to see Heikki, I think." Her dad answered, and she was sure he had worded it like that on purpose. Seb raised a questioning eyebrow at Cat. "She didn't tell you?"

"It wasn't anything, really, just a misunderstanding really...." Cat looked at the ground and hoped this would all go away.

"She was visiting us," Mina spoke up for the first time. "It was a secret, but we got married."

Cat looked as surprised as Seb to hear that, but nodded.

"So, Heikki is your step-brother now?" Seb looked at Cat uncertainly, not sure if he was okay with this idea. She shrugged, not really sure what to say.

"It's really just a formality," Albert stepped in. "We had to get it on paper for legal reasons."

"We actually were in the office this morning when Albert said he had to leave early to see you graduate, so I thought I would come too," Mina explained, glancing reassuringly at Albert.

"Right, well, I think we're going to head out soon." Seb grabbed Cat's hand and she nodded.

"We should probably get back to the office," Albert said to Mina, and turned to Cat. "Congratulations, Catherine, well done." He awkwardly kissed her on the head before getting dragged off by Mina, leaving Cat and Seb staring after them in confusion.

"Do I want to know?" He finally said to Cat.

"No. And honestly, I have no idea myself. This was the first I'd heard they'd gotten married. Last time I saw them, they were standing in the hallway in Heikki's apartment wearing nothing but a robe." Cat shuddered at the memory.

Seb scrunched up his face at the bad mental image. "And what were you doing in his appartment?"

Cat stopped for a second before she continued following him. "Looking for our parents, although I didn't expect to find them like that...."

He shook his head. "That might give me nightmares."

Cat laughed and agreed, and hoped the subject was dropped for good. They flew to Monaco the next day to prep for the next race and Seb was busy with that. Cat finished up her final project without much interruption, except to gather a few more statistics after the Friday practice. She stuck with working with Seb's car, and avoided whoever was driving the second Ferrari.

She didn't ask what had happened to Kevin, although she was quite curious. She probably would have heard if he'd been fired, right? Or if he was injured, or sick? It wasn't until the race started that she knew Magnussen was actually in the second car, and she overheard someone saying she was glad he'd "gotten better." Cat eavesdropped a little more and discovered Kevin had been out with a sprained wrist, and no one knew how he'd gotten it.

Cat worried that maybe Seb had confronted him, and perhaps it got a little physical. Would he really hurt Kevin? Could be be that angry (or jealous?). This thought occupied her mind throughout the majority of the race, and didn't follow it too closely until Verstappen's crash.

She jumped out of her seat when she saw the 17 year old crash into the barrier. 'Oh God, he's broken his legs!' She thought and started asking the engineers if they'd heard he was okay. But he was fine, since the barriers stopped him the way they were supposed to.

The rest of the race became much more exciting as the safety car came out and Hamilton pitted for some reason, putting him in third place. Surprisingly, Seb ended up coming in second, and he seemed to be the only happy person on the podium. Cat knew there would be a long night of partying and celebrating ahead of them, and embraced it with a positive attitude. It was exactly what she needed after finishing her final project and graduating from college.

In the early hours of the morning Cat and Seb finally headed back to their hotel room. She was leaning on him, though he could barely walk himself. They were giggling about practically nothing and laughing at inside jokes- the usual drunk ramblings.

Cat decided this would be the best time to ask Seb about Kevin. However, she did not get the answer she was expecting.

"His wrist?" His foggy brain tried to remember what she was talking about.

"Yeah, he didn't race in Spain because of it?"

"Oh. I didn't hurt his wrist," he laughed at her absurd suggestion. "I told Maurizio I would leave if Kevin wasn't fired. His wrist was fine, they just made up something so he couldn't race."

"You did what? Sebastian!" Cat hit his arm playfully.

"He kissed you! I couldn't let him get away with that! I was mad, and I just wanted him gone, you know, remove the threat."

"Threat? Seb, no one is a threat to you where my affection is concerned. I have never felt this way about someone before. It was just a mistake, a moment of weakness. I was about to leave for Finland after a mysterious message from my dad, my final project wasn't going well, and I had unknowingly spent 25 million dollars on your career that wasn't exactly mine to spend. Pretty much, I thought I was done. I thought everything was falling apart," Cat faded off, mumbling and not making sense, but Seb wasn't really listening anyway.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this? Cat, we have to work together in situations like this. I can't have you kissing my teammates, and running off to Finland to see your crazy ex. I should be mad at you, but right now I've had too much to drink and I'm not sure what to think. Let's just sleep it off, I'll talk to you in the morning." He looked upset, but more sympathetic than mad. Cat wasn't sure why, but she couldn't have known how guilty he felt for unknowingly putting her in that situation.

They both fell asleep quickly, but worried about their talk they were likely to have in the morning. Once again, Cat thought things were not going to end well. But Seb had different plans.

 

 


	24. Brazil

"Cat?" She lifted her head at the mention of her name.

"Yes?" She called and turned around to face whomever was disrupting her. She did not remember ever being more stressed in her life and actually thought she would crack. This was supposed to be 'the happiest day of her life' but she felt like she had a thousand things to worry about.

"I'm here to do your hair," the voice behind the door responded, and Cat opened the door with a very tense smile. The hair dresser set about brushing and combing her hair, and it was a little relaxing, except Cat was worried about the caterer, the florist, the third bridesmaid who had not reported in for hair and makeup yet, and about a hundred other things.

"Hold your head still," she was instructed and put down her phone. She closed her eyes and took the opportunity to rehearse her vows. For some reason, Cat had let Seb talk her into getting married in German, despite the fact that his relatives all understood English, and her family did not speak German. However, she felt it would make a good impression on his family. They all thought the wedding was too rushed, that they hadn't known each other long enough, or that perhaps there was something else going on. Cat had never had to explain so frequently that no, she was not pregnant. Although Seb often followed up her denial with "not yet!" and a cheeky smile.

His mother came in and dabbed her eyes. She claimed she had been crying nonstop since that morning and hoped to get it all over with before the wedding. However, seeing Cat's dress hanging in the corner of the room encouraged a new round of tears. "Mein Gott, you are so beautiful with your hair like that," she whispered to Cat and cleared her throat. "I came in here not to cry in front of my future daughter in law," she sniffled again, "but to inform you that Britta has Seb and they are on their way here from the airport. Should be here in maybe an hour, but you know Seb- he's never on time. You are so brave doing this all on your own. Sebastian is so impatient! I say, 'wait until the end of the season at least, so you can properly plan the ceremony with Cat!' But he is too impatient." She shook her head and muttered something in German Cat did not understand. "And poor you not having a mother here to help you! I don't know how you have managed!"

"Mrs. Vettel, I'm fine," Cat tried to answer calmly with a smile, but Mrs. Vettel only broke down crying again.

"And now you are Mrs. Vettel too! This is too much for me," she fanned herself with her hand and tried to stop the tears from pouring down her face by batting her eyelids. "I cannot imagine how I will be at Fabian's wedding, he's the baby after all."

"Can you go find him for me actually? I want to make sure he has the rings safely," Cat instructed her nearly mother-in-law. Turning back to the mirror she was surprised to see the stylist had finished her hair and was waiting to get started on her make-up. "That actually looks really good," she said to the stylist who held up a mirror for her to see the back.

"I think we'll go with a light brown theme for your make up, with a soft light pink lip tint," the stylist started, and Cat nodded. She had no opinions on this matter, as long as she didn't look bad.

Over the next half hour various people came in to check in and update Cat on the progress of the set up. The flowers were ready, all the decorations were in place, and some of the early guests had started to arrive. Cat checked the time anxiously and hoped Seb was not late. She smiled, it would only be appropriate if he were late, though. He had almost missed the hot air balloon he had arranged for the sole purpose of proposing to her. It was quite romantic, even if they had missed the sunset.

Fabian poked his head around the corner and held up the rings. "See? I've got them." He smiled and Cat tried to smile back at him.

"Thank you." Cat said through nearly clenched teeth and checked her phone again. Still nothing from Seb, or Brita since Seb isn't really supposed to see or talk to her. He should have been her 5 minutes ago. The ceremony should start in 15 minutes. Where is he??

"You think he'll be late?" Fabian asked and grinned at the thought of his brother being late to his own wedding.

"Nope. I told him I'd marry someone else if he didn't show up on time," Cat smiled and winked. "Has the package arrived yet?"

Fabian winked. "The package is in the nest."

"What?"

"Yes," he nodded. "It's here and ready to go."

"Excellent. Make sure Seb does not see it." Cat instructed and Fabian was shooed from the room so she could change into her dress. It was loose fitting, but tight enough where it needed to be. She was given some finishing touches, and finally handed a green and white bouquet.

"Are you ready?" The stylist asked.

"Is he here?" She had not yet received confirmation of Seb's arrival, and they couldn't start without him. Her stylist nodded.

"He's just changing into his tux now, and he'll be out there in time for you to walk down the aisle."

For the first time in weeks Cat relaxed. It was finally happening after months of preparation and planning.

"Aunt Cat!" A little girl yelled and came running down to see her. She had bright blond hair, and blue eyes just like her father. This was Heikki's secret, what his mother had used as leverage to make him go along with her schemes to make money. She was the illegitimate child Heikki accidentally fathered seven years ago with someone he really, really should not have even been seen with. However, that was all in the past now. Mina and Albert were still happy, Heikki and Cat were over what they'd been through together the previous summer, and now they were an unusual and, not quite happy, but almost, family. Cat had still not quite forgiven her father enough to let him walk her down the aisle, but she had found a suitable replacement.

"Hello little flower girl!" Cat said to her step-niece. "Your dress is very pretty."

"I like your dress too," the girl smiled up at Cat before being ushered toward the entrance of the church. The three bridesmaids followed slowly, and Cat heard the sound of a cane come up behind her and stop.

"Ready?" Kimi asked and held out his left arm, his right hand supporting himself on a fancy cane. This was her surprise for Seb- Kimi. Cat nodded and took his arm, her bouquet in her left hand. The doors to the church were opened and her heart stopped when she saw Seb standing at the front looking impeccable, as if he hadn't just gotten off the plane from Brazil after racing in a grand prix.

He was so distracted by Cat he almost didn't see Kimi. Cat knew Seb would be the first to cry during the ceremony, but she didn't realize seeing it would make her cry too. She blinked her eyes and tried not to ruin her makeup and Kimi offered her his handkerchief as they reached the front.

"Miss Catherine, you look beautiful," Seb said as he took her hand. He nodded to Kimi, unsure of what to say, although with Kimi, not much needed to be said. The pair stood in front of their friends and family and pledged to love each other for the rest of their lives. By the end they were both crying, his mother was bawling, and Cat could have sworn she saw her father's eyes glimmering with tears. They hopped in a bright red Ferrari with "Just Married" scrawled on the back, and drove off into the sunset and lived happily ever after. 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was very fun to write!
> 
> If you're interested I re-wrote this story with original characters and I am slowly posting it online as I edit it.  
> The book is based off of this story, but with new characters and a better plot. 
> 
> https://www.wattpad.com/story/121958213-oxterionn-of-love-and-fast-cars
> 
> Thanks for reading my fanfiction, hope you check out some of my other works!! : )

**Author's Note:**

> I have re-written this story as a book with all original characters: https://www.amazon.com/Oxterionn-Part-I-Lila-Smith-ebook/dp/B078XLGR3G/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1517077709&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=oxterionn+part+1


End file.
